Bethena's Crystal Ball

I went to visit my old friend Bethena, High Princess of the Cherubs. I sought her out in order to find the future of x-ray, say 20 years from now. She asked, "Why now? Why do you care?" These questions caught me by surprise. So, carefully, I attempted to answer. "Now, because there is no now. And care because there are those who don't." I thought that was pretty clever, but she scoffed at me. "Ah, these things you already know, you have eyes but you cannot see," she said.

"Think of things in threes, it will be easier for you," Bethena claimed. "People, places and things. People will still need x-rays. Little people and big people. Very big people, ENORMOUS people. People that will test you and your equipment's limits." "Okay, I think I got the point. I am seeing more and more really big patients," I said. "Then there will be old, very old, ancient people to x-ray. Over 95 years old will be common. And lots of them," she continued. "Because less people are smoking? Because the baby boomers will be old then?" I asked. "Don't bother me with the details. Then, there will be a variety of peoples: cultures, races, religions; workers and patients too. Diversity of all kinds. You better get used to it," Bethena warned. "And competition for work. Gone are the days that any warm body with an RT diploma will be granted a job," she said. "You mean no more staff shortages?" I asked. "No, not that. Think outside your box. Think globally. You will be competing with the rest of the world."

"Sobering. Tell me about places," I asked. "Places are gone," she started. "Places homogenize through technology and travel. Everything gets standardized. Everything looks alike. Walmart health care centers. Internet education. Teleradiology is the norm. Advanced x-ray degrees. Budgetary constraints. Aging infrastructure. Remember time changes places," she projected. "What about things?" I asked. "Constant adaptation to new technologies, software updates.Wide-touch-screen monitors, fingerprint security scanning, CT domination. CT C-arms in the OR. Digital portable technology. Elimination of work steps. Employee tracking through smart badges. Higher efficiency. Be ready to relearn almost everything except anatomy and positioning. It's all here in my crystal ball."

As I walked away, I was a little confused about what the High Princess told me. It seemed some of it was contradictory, like high technology and budgetary constraints. But then again, her crystal ball was a little cloudy.