I know this should go without saying, but I have worked with enough sonographers, and in enough places to know that tidiness does not happen automatically.

When finishing an exam, always remember to clean the gel off the transducers. No one, and I repeat, no one, likes to go into a room and pick up a transducer slathered in gel from a previous patient. But many times the transducers are left dripping, gel pooling around the holder, and even sliding down the cord. Get into the habit of cleaning the transducers from the very start of your career. Clean every transducer you have used during the exam. Wipe down the cords. Change the linen. Leave the room ready for the next patient. Always. Everyone forgets now and then–a patient needs extra help leaving, you are interrupted just as you finish–but make that the exception, not the rule. Being conscientious about the little things will take you far in getting the help you need from others. Believe me, others will appreciate it, and they will notice if you do not clean up after yourself.

Even if you are in a department where the norm is to leave the equipment and room a mess, take the initiative to start a new philosophy. It may catch on throughout, and then you will not have to stick your hand in someone else’s mess.