The Rules of Radiology

Rule #1 / / Obey the Rules.- Rule #2 / / Smile .- Rule #3 / / Keep your cool.- Rule #4 / / Work hard.- Rule #5 / / Toughen Up.- Rule #6 / / Respect the machines.- Rule #7 / / Never let a clinician play radiologist .- Rule #8 / / Forgive the sins of the clinician.- Rule #9 / / Don't be too approachable.- Rule #10 / / Be a good colleague.- Rule #11 / / Never measure anything.- Rule #12 / / Never count anything.- Rule #13 / / The default is to say 'yes'.- Rule #14 / / Agitation is not an indication.- Rule #15 / / Always help the patient.- Rule #16 / / Be damned careful when saying an outright 'no'.- Rule #17 / / Don't study surrogates.- Rule #18 / / Avoid 'interesting' cases.- Rule #19 / / Beware the 'fit 90 year old'.- Rule #20 / / Counteract misjudgement.- Rule #21 / / There is no such thing as a radiological emergency.- Rule #22 / / If you feel resistance, stop pushing.- Rule #23 / / Use words carefully.- Rule #24 / / Brevity is king.- Rule #25 / / Ditch the stethoscope.- Rule #26 / /CT is easy.- Rule #27 / / Don't answer the phone.- Rule #28 / / Stay safe the easy way.- Rule #29 / / Get off the fence.- Rule #30 / / Don't pick fights.- Rule #31 / / Beware the 'good' case.- Rule #32 / / Don't fret about complications.- Rule #33 / / We are not the business of exclusion.- Rule #34 / / Trust your clinical instincts.- Rule #35 / / If you have to fail, fail safely.- Rule #36 / / Take clinical details with a pinch of salt.- Rule #37 / / Don't crap on juniors.- Rule #38 / / Aggressive clinicians need your help.- Rule #39 / / Know loads.- Rule #40 / / Never offer to eat your pants.- Rule #41 / / Radiologists don't wear suede shoes.-Rule #42 / / Never investigate on the day of discharge.- Rule #43 / / Only give clinicians 15 seconds.- Rule #44 / / You can never know too much anatomy.-Rule #45 / / Be careful with "limited" or "quick" studies.- Rule #46 / / Image quality is up to the radiologist.- Rule #47 / / It is never a chordoma.- Rule #48 / / Reporting rooms should be

Proudly hailing from the West Riding of Yorkshire, Paul McCoubrie qualified from St George's Hospital Medical School, London, in 1996. A card-carrying educationalist, he was Lead RCR Anatomy Examiner and Head of Severn School of Radiology. He is currently External Examiner for the Faculty of Radiology, Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland. He has been Consultant Radiologist at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, since 2004, and lives in Bristol with his wife and teenage daughters.