Pen to paper: a radiographer’s survival guide hits the shelves
Jonathan Cowey-Small kicked his author dreams into gear after being inspired by his own radiography journey. He tells Synergy why he thinks his new book will act as a guide for up-and-coming radiography professionals
In December last year, Jonathan Cowey-Small released his book, Take a Deep Breath In: How to survive becoming a radiographer. Described as a “memoir meets survival guide”, the book offers valuable insights into and tips on starting out in the radiography profession.
Medical memoirs have risen in popularity over the last few years. Adam Kay’s bestseller, This is Going to Hurt, was released in 2018, and a popular BBC series based on the book was made in 2022. With a market ready and waiting, it seemed inevitable that a radiography memoir might grace our shelves soon. Enter Take a Deep Breath In. Like so many others, the beginning of Jonathan’s radiography career collided with the onslaught of the Covid pandemic. He graduated from the University of Cumbria with a BSc in diagnostic radiography in 2019, just in time to join a healthcare service facing unprecedented demand. “The beginning of my career was a baptism of fire,” he says. “I started working at Sunderland at the end of August, and then the following February/March was the start of the pandemic.
“As you probably know, radiographers were very much at the forefront of everything that was going on. At the A&Es, there were hundreds of chest X-rays an hour. That got me off to a bumpy start. But it thickened my skin for the rest of my career.”
It was an extremely challenging time “professionally and personally” as Jonathan followed the strict isolation rules set out by the government to stop the spread of Covid. “I had to move into my grandfather’s house and move away from my family, my wife, to live alone,” he explains. “I didn’t have the amenities that made life at the time bearable. I was stuck in a house without any wifi, without an oven, without modern conveniences. It made my personal life difficult, and professionally it was incredibly hard to work through. I came out with some battle scars mentally; I go into that in quite a lot of detail in the book. I’m still feeling the effects of it now, through therapy and medication.”
Spread your wings
But his bumpy start didn’t hold him back. Towards the end of the pandemic’s peak, Jonathan transitioned into cardiac radiography at Hammersmith Hospital – one of the busiest heart centres in London. He was there for just over 18 months. After some time back at Sunderland Hospital – “It was nice to go back there and see some familiar faces in a post-pandemic, slightly calmer atmosphere” – Jonathan moved to Singapore with his wife for her job, where he worked at Mount Elizabeth Orchard. After a stint working in Bali, Indonesia, he decided to hang up his lead apron and pursue his dreams of becoming an author.
Though some might consider Jonathan’s radiography career to be short, it’s clear that he’s managed to squeeze in a wealth of experience spanning the globe. Some of his colleagues, he says, had been radiographers “for nearly twice as long as I’d even been alive”.
“I initially wanted to write this as a how-to guide to getting through your studies and becoming a radiographer,” he explains. “Then when I started to write, it wasn’t as binary as that.
“It wasn’t just a ‘do this, do that, don’t do this and do this’. It became a little bit more creative. I started to dig deep into personal stories, funny stories and sad stories and personal experiences. Then it just turned into what it is now – sitting on the bookshelf of Amazon. It’s sort of a self memoir survival guide.”
Spread your wings
But his bumpy start didn’t hold him back. Towards the end of the pandemic’s peak, Jonathan transitioned into cardiac radiography at Hammersmith Hospital – one of the busiest heart centres in London. He was there for just over 18 months. After some time back at Sunderland Hospital – “It was nice to go back there and see some familiar faces in a post-pandemic, slightly calmer atmosphere” – Jonathan moved to Singapore with his wife for her job, where he worked at Mount Elizabeth Orchard. After a stint working in Bali, Indonesia, he decided to hang up his lead apron and pursue his dreams of becoming an author.
Though some might consider Jonathan’s radiography career to be short, it’s clear that he’s managed to squeeze in a wealth of experience spanning the globe. Some of his colleagues, he says, had been radiographers “for nearly twice as long as I’d even been alive”.
“I initially wanted to write this as a how-to guide to getting through your studies and becoming a radiographer,” he explains. “Then when I started to write, it wasn’t as binary as that.
“It wasn’t just a ‘do this, do that, don’t do this and do this’. It became a little bit more creative. I started to dig deep into personal stories, funny stories and sad stories and personal experiences. Then it just turned into what it is now – sitting on the bookshelf of Amazon. It’s sort of a self memoir survival guide.”
The target audience
Take a Deep Breath In is designed to be completely accessible to radiography students and those who are newly qualified. “I did a lot of market research and, as far as I could see, there weren’t any books out there that give an open and honest interpretation of what the life of a radiographer is, unless you speak to one directly,” Jonathan continues. “If you are about to embark on your university course, you don’t really know what to expect. I wanted to give students – mainly students, but also freshly qualified radiographers – what I believe to be invaluable advice.”
It was of utmost importance that the book be an honest account, he says – but not in a way that might put budding students off radiography. “It’s very open and honest. It doesn’t paint a pretty picture that isn’t a reality,” he admits. “It’s very much exactly what you’re going to find. Not in a scary way, but just in an honest, open way. I’d like to think my writing is quite humorous. It definitely puts an entertaining spin on the story.”
Importantly, Take a Deep Breath In also offers a look into the profession for non-radiographers who might be interested in learning more about it. Feedback so far has praised this aspect of the book. “I’ve had reviews and messages from people who have got nothing to do with the medical world who thoroughly enjoyed and understood the book. And they are not biased reviews from family and friends – they are genuine reviews from people who just so happen to pick it up from social media, TikTok or from Amazon itself.”
Jonathan began writing his book in September 2024. Overall, the process took around two months, and the book was independently published in December. At the time Jonathan was also working as a copywriter and had undertaken copywriting for website rewrites.
Breaking the mould
With the release of Take a Deep Breath In, Jonathan is trying to change the face of medical healthcare education books. He finds that these can be – much like their environment – “quite sterile”. His book is a heartier addition to the genre, mixing ‘how to’ with personal experiences. “It’s a very broad book in that it gives you wide-ranging advice – from transferring a patient on to a table to exposure factors and the positioning,” he explains. “But it also has bullet points – ‘do this, do that, don’t do this’. I wanted my book to be very personal. I tried to make it as relatable and as genuine as possible. My dream is for it to be on a reading list that’s given to radiography students when they start year one.”
Jonathan is absolutely determined to make this dream happen. So much so that he has compiled a list of every university that teaches radiography in the UK, and has the email address of every lecturer who delivers the course. “They’re going to get an email from me every two weeks saying: ‘I feel like this book is going to be so much help to your students.’” he says. “And until they respond, they’re going to get that fortnightly email. Because I really do believe I’m worth listening to. You’ve just got to keep shouting until someone listens.”
Breaking the mould
With the release of Take a Deep Breath In, Jonathan is trying to change the face of medical healthcare education books. He finds that these can be – much like their environment – “quite sterile”. His book is a heartier addition to the genre, mixing ‘how to’ with personal experiences. “It’s a very broad book in that it gives you wide-ranging advice – from transferring a patient on to a table to exposure factors and the positioning,” he explains. “But it also has bullet points – ‘do this, do that, don’t do this’. I wanted my book to be very personal. I tried to make it as relatable and as genuine as possible. My dream is for it to be on a reading list that’s given to radiography students when they start year one.”
Jonathan is absolutely determined to make this dream happen. So much so that he has compiled a list of every university that teaches radiography in the UK, and has the email address of every lecturer who delivers the course. “They’re going to get an email from me every two weeks saying: ‘I feel like this book is going to be so much help to your students.’” he says. “And until they respond, they’re going to get that fortnightly email. Because I really do believe I’m worth listening to. You’ve just got to keep shouting until someone listens.”
Finding your feet
Jonathan is adamant about his book’s ability to educate and inform on the earliest stages in a radiographer’s career. But what else will readers learn? That there isn’t only one way to become a radiographer, Jonathan says. His radiography education and subsequent career came only after returning to university at the age of 26. Before this, he had spent “six or seven years” in different odd jobs, such as call centres and retail. “I was a little bit lost,” he admits. “I didn’t know what to do or what direction I was going in, so I went back to uni at 26.
“I’d been to college and in uni before but it didn’t have the same intensity as a healthcare degree – one that is essentially working full time on placement while also studying for exams, course work, etc.”
Perhaps most crucially, Jonathan hopes that student or newly qualified radiographers will follow his advice and find what he calls an “unofficial mentor” in their career: “This is someone who on paper may not be your mentor, but maybe you feel a better connection with than your on-paper mentor; they will help you in so many ways. I refer to them as the old golden goose of the department – every radiology department in the UK has one or a few.”
Ultimately, Take a Deep Breath In provides an insider’s look into what the beginning of a radiography career can look like, from the perspective of someone who has been through it all. “I feel it’s so relatable, and it can be of so much help,” he says. “And, as I said, it’s not just for healthcare students and professionals. It’s an enjoyable book for anyone, even someone who doesn’t have radiographic experience. And I hope it’s the first of many more to come.”
More about Take a Deep Breath In
Take a Deep Breath In: How to survive becoming a radiographer was released on 13 December 2024. It details radiographer Jonathan Cowey-Small’s experiences as a radiography student through to his role as senior cardiac radiographer in UK hospitals and beyond. It was independently published.
Take a Deep Breath In: How to survive becoming a radiographer is now available on Amazon.
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