Radiation Therapists See Advancements in the Field
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Properly positioning the patient before administering a dose of radiation is extremely important because radiation therapists are trying to precisely target a malignancy and not the nearly healthy tissue. Some areas of the body are easy to keep still and target accurately, but areas like the lungs, cannot remain still for the duration of a radiation treatment, which has presented radiation therapists with quite a challenge. 
A technique called respiratory gating has been used by radiation therapists with some success. When this technique began the patient would tell the radiation therapist when they got to a certain point in their breathing cycle. The radiation therapist would then try to administer the dose at the same time each breath. This method obviously would have a fair about of user error and be quite difficult for a radiation therapist to perfect.
In recent years respiratory gating has become a much better process and much easier for radiation therapists to administer. It is now a more automatic process. There are sensors that emit radiation that are put on the patient that send signals to a computer showing the exact breathing pattern. This lets the radiation therapist do their work from the computer which is showing them the breathing pattern instead of the radiation therapist being told the pattern by the patient.
Another advancement that has been made to radiation therapy is the use of GPS to track patient movement. Dr. Sandler explained its use very well, stating, “Much like a GPS helps a driver determine where he is and where he is going, the Calypso’s wireless waves tell me exactly where the the prostate is and exactly how I should move the patient.” This technology has only been used for prostate cancer so far, although it is believed that it could be successfully used for other cancer types as well.
Learn about hiring a radiation therapist.
Source:
- McGraw, Mark (2007, October 15) “Something out of Star Wars” Today’s Radiation Therapy. Advance for Imaging and Radiation Therapy Professionals, 16-20
New Tool to Reduce Radiation Exposure to CT Technologists
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
CT technologists have a new tool they can use to reduce radiation exposure to their patients and to themselves. Positioning children and infants has always been difficult for CT technologists. The children are scared and confused and do not understand why they must stay still. Even if a CT technologist managed to position a child, the child would often move after the CT technologist left the room to take the image. This meant that a CT technologist would need to hold the child still while the image was being taken, and in the process receive a totally unnecessary dose of radiation.
Now there is a new option, and it is called the universal octopaque. It is basically a padded board that a CT technologist can gently strap a child to. The child is first wrapped with a blanket for comfort, and then strapped down. The child’s head is restrained too, with big pads on each side of the head. Using this device, the child can be safely restrained so that a good image may be taken on the first try, instead of having to repeat the image and increase the radiation dose to the child. Also, this allows the CT technologist to be safely away from the imaging process.
The universal octopaque also allows for a CT technologist to take images from angles that would have been difficult to achieve while just holding a child.
This device is useful in several other modalities as well, allowing MRI technologists, nuclear medicine technologists, and radiation therapists to remain safe while performing pediatric imaging.
Learn about hiring a CT technologist.
Source:
- Femia, John (2006, October 6) Keeping Kids Still, and RTs Safe from Radiation. Advance for Imaging and Radiation Thereapy Professionals, 6
How Radiation Therapy is used to Fight Cancer
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation to destroy cancer cells and to shrink tumors. Normal cells are killed during radiation therapy too, but they are usually able to recover fully. Radiation therapy can consist of different types, which can treat a variety of areas small, large, deep, or shallow. Radiation therapy is very common, and on average half of cancer patients are treated with ionizing radiation.
Radiation therapy can be internal, external, or systemic. External is the simplest type, given using a machine outside the body. Often with external radiation therapy the patient does not need to stay in the hospital any longer than the time the treatment takes. External radiation therapy does not make the patient radioactive, so they do not need to worry about staying away from others. Internal radiation therapy is inserted in the body near the tumor in a certain dose that dissolves. Internal radiation therapy will make patients radioactive near the area where the ionizing radiation was implanted. Because the patient will be radioactive for a short time they are sometimes kept in the hospital and during that time those visiting need to take precautions. Systemic radiation therapy is given by mouth or injection. This type of radiation therapy also make the patient slight radioactive, so precautions are sometimes necessary.
There is a team required to take care of just one patient. The oncologist comes up with the treatment plan. The dosimetrist is trained to figure out the correct dose. The radiation physicist makes sure the machines that are used for external radiation therapy are working correctly and that the right amount of radiation is being delivered. Finally, the radiation therapist is the person who actually gives the radiation treatment.
Learn more about hiring a radiation therapist.
Source:
- National Cancer Institute (2004, August 25) Radiation Therapy for Cancer: Questions and answers. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/therapy/radiation
Mammographers are Imaging More Men
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Often when people think of breast cancer they think of women, not men. However, over the past three decades the number of men with breast cancer has grown. Mammographers need to know how to make men feel comfortable during an exam, how to best perform an exam on a man, and the facts about breast cancer in men.
The obvious challenge a mammographer faces when scanning a man’s breast is that there is usually not a lot of breast to work with. It can be a challenge for a mammographer to get the breast into the compression device and to get it to stay while being scanned. Some mammographers have found quite unique methods for scanning men, including using a cooking spatula to hold the breast in place.
Another thing that mammographers find hard about scanning a man’s breast is that they are often hairy, and so the skin slips during compression. Mammographers find that a spatula is apparently helpful to deal with this too.
Also, mammographers find that men have larger pectoral muscles than women in general. Mammographers can use different views to get good images to get past this.
Finally, mammographers have a hard time setting many men at ease enough to perform the exam. It doesn’t help that most waiting rooms that men have to wait in before seeing a mammographer are decorated in very feminine ways.
There are many issues mammographers face when imaging men, but men do have an advantage over women in one case. Some mammographers make a point of calling men out of the waiting room sooner than they would a woman, so that the man doesn’t have to feel self conscious in front of all of the women for too long.
Learn about hiring a mammographer.
Source:
- Stanislaw, Stacy (2007, December 10) Breast Cancer: It’s a Guy Thing Too. Advance for Imaging and Radiation Thereapy Professionals, 13-15
Are Male Ultrasonographers Discriminated Against?
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Being a male ultrasonographer can make it tough to find a job. Many facilities will only hire a female . There are several reasons why this is so.
There are many facilities that require a chaperon to be present when a male ultrasonographer performs an sonogram on a woman. Facilities probably choose to make this a policy to avoid lawsuits. However, a female ultrasonographer is usually not required to have a chaperon present during a sonogram. This means that most facilities who choose to hire a male ultrasonographer would then have to pay a chaperon to be present during every sonogram or other sensitive exam. Also, it is common for patients to only allow female ultrasonographer to scan them.
These reasons make it easy to see why hospitals would not want to hire a male ultrasonographer. But, is this illegal? The Civil Rights Act of 1964 does state that “no employer may discriminate on the basis of race, sex, national origin and religion”. However, it goes on to provide employers leeway: “where religion, sex, or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business of enterprise”.
While male ultrasonographers are discriminated against, it is done legally, and there isn’t anything right now that they can do about it. This is sad, because there are some male ultrasonographers who are very good at what they do that do not get the opportunities that a female would. On the other hand, male ultrasonographers choose their professions knowing that this discrimination exists.
Learn about hiring an ultrasonographer.
Source:
- Stanislaw, Stacy (2007, December 24) Sex in Sonography: Is There a Double Standard? Advance for Imaging and Radiation Thereapy Professionals, 18
Incentives for Radiologic Technologists to Work Weekends
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Most people do not like to work weekends, but in the healthcare field, weekends for some radiologic technologists are a must. Hospitals must be staffed all the time. However, almost any radiologic technologist will tell you that they would rather not work weekends. There are many other things a radiologic technologist would prefer to do over the weekends, especially if they have families who have the weekends off. There are many ways that hospitals can make it worthwhile for a radiologic technologist to work weekends.
Hospitals often get creative to remain staffed over the weekends. Some hospitals offer bonuses for radiologic technologists working weekends. Often a radiologic technologist will be motivated to work weekends for the extra money, which can add up to an extra 9 dollars per hour to a radiologic technologist’s wage.
Another approach that hospitals will take to get weekend radiologic technologists is to offer long weekend shifts adding up to 24 hours in exchange for no week day shifts, while still paying the radiologic technologist for a full 40 hour week. This is a very tempting offer for many a radiologic technologist, since it actually gives them more free time each week with the same pay.
Also, hospitals must keep radiologic technologists on call in case another employee gets sick or the hospital demands more staff due to an unexpected overflow of patients. This requires more creative solutions. Often, a radiologic technologist will simply be offered extra money to be on call.
These solutions usually successfully enable hospitals to remain staffed during weekends while keeping the radiologic technologists working these weekend shifts satisfied.
Learn about hiring a radiologic technologist.
Source:
- Willis, Marc (2006, September 18) Weekend Work. Advance for Imaging and Radiation Thereapy Professionals, 31.
No Time Like the Present to be a Nuclear Medicine Technologist or a MRI Technologist
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Now is an interesting time to be an MRI technologist or a nuclear medicine technologist because of the current studies being done in those fields. MRI imaging and nuclear medicine are being researched in hopes of using them to learn more about how the brain works and why things go wrong. The goal is to find the physical or neurological things that correlate with mental problems and can be measured by imagin
g done by a nuclear medicine technologist or an MRI technologist.
A nuclear medicine technologist is familiar with brain imaging such as PET and SPECT, which is already being used to see the areas of the brain where epileptic seizures start, and to look at the brain for indications that an epileptic seizure might occur, such as brain trauma or dementia. Another use a nuclear medicine technologist might see of SPECT imaging is to wait for a patient to seize, then a nuclear medicine technologist will quickly inject the radioisotope. Next, the nuclear medicine technologist will study the SPECT image to see where the seizure began. With this information, a surgical intervention could be done. There are even some nuclear technologists who are moving into private outpatient clinics where they will use SPECT imaging to help diagnosis neurobehavioral problems.
Some studies are done by looking at normal brains to study how humans learn. Researchers want to see if there are any structural, biochemical, or neuro-connections that indicate higher intelligence, and a nuclear medicine technologist might get to help look for these. Similar studies are being done looking at developmental delays and language problems.
One limitation of imaging that nuclear medicine technologists will see in detecting and studying neurological problems is the subject’s ability to remain still enough for a nuclear medicine technologist to take an image. A nuclear medicine technologist often has trouble imaging young kids. While children can be sedated to be imaged by a nuclear medicine technologist in necessary situations, this is not feasible for safety and ethical reasons in studies.
Learn about hiring a nuclear medicine technologist or a MRI technologist.
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Ward, Joyce, CNMT, RT(N) (2006, August 7) Probing the Mind. Advance for Imaging and Radiation Thereapy Professionals, 13-15
CARDIOVASCULAR & RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGY: Ten percent growth rate in school applications
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Parents: Encourage your kids to lock their career targets on health care!
More wage and salary jobs—about 3.6 million—will be created in health care than in any other industry between 2004 and 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects. And an overwhelming Eight of the 20 fastest-growing occupations will be in health care. Seems like a solid place to be.
Dr. M. LaCheeta McPherson, dean of health and legal studies at El Centro College in Dallas said that sign-on bonuses are commonly mentioned in employment ads for imaging technicians as well as respiratory therapists.
That sounds great, but where can you find jobs that offer such bonuses? CompHealth can often find them for you. Just contact the country’s top health care staffing company for more information. Wink! 
El Centro has experienced a 10 percent growth rate in applicants not only in nursing, but also in its associate degree programs in radiologic sciences and specialized imaging, such as diagnostic medical sonography and invasive cardiovascular technology.
Other schools are experiencing similar trends. Radiologic technology is the most sought-after program at Tarrant County College in Hurst, said Dr. Woody V. Kageler, director of health sciences.
According to McLennan Community College in Waco Texas, the total cost for the radiologic technology program in 2008 is approximately $4875, with the first semester typically costing about $1500. Considering that a chief radiologic technologist averages between and annually, this is a pretty good investment.
As technological advancements increase the use and application of imaging modalities, the growth radiologic and cardiovascular technology have experienced in the past several years will only increase. I almost hate to say it because it almost sounds cliché these days, but baby boomers are aging and will continue to need more and more health care.
This field combines health care and technology; neither of those are fading any time soon!
Learn about hiring a Cardiovascular Tech or Radiologic Tech
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Cardiovascular events triggered by high-stakes sporting events!
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Playing in the Super Bowl is not for the weak hearted; apparently, neither is watching it. According to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, looking on as your favorite team teeters the thin line between exhilaration and exile could trigger cardiovascular events. The emotional stress could just be too much to handle.
For the study, researchers examined data involving 4,279 residents of the Munich, Germany area who experienced cardiovascular events between June 9, 2006, and July 9, 2006, when Germany participated in and hosted the seven FIFA Cup championship games. The research team, led by Gerhard Steinbeck of Ludwig-Maximilians University, found that the rate of heart attacks and other acute cardiovascular events was 3.26 times higher for men and 1.82 times higher for women during the World Cup matches. Further, the study shows that the general risk for cardiovascular events that were severe enough to be worthy of treatment, exploded from only one out of 100,000 people on a usual day to two to three per 100,000 people on the days when Germany played in World Cup championship games! For the men who already had known cardiovascular troubles, the risk was 100 times greater; researchers found that these chaps became treatment-worthy in the one to two per 1,000 people range during the seven games.
To make things worse, the study found that overeating, eating too fast, drinking alcohol, and smoking also contributed to an increased risk of heart attack. Wisely, Steinbeck recommended limiting such behaviors while watching games. I don’t know about you, but any major sporting event I’ve witnessed, whether at the stadium or in a sports bar, has included an overindulgence in all of these behaviors.
Thankfully, Steinbeck and Steinbrenner won’t need to battle; the German researcher and the Yankees baseball club owner can remain at peace. Steinbeck said the findings do not mean that people should skip big games, and that they only translate into a small increase in risk.
He also said that people should not delay seeking treatment if symptoms arise, such as heart palpitations or chest pains. Steinbeck said people “should regularly take their prescribed drug regimen,” too, adding, “They should not stop it.”
Learn about hiring a Cardiovascular Tech
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Source:
- http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/358/5/475
- Sataline, Wall Street Journal, 1/31
- Goldberg/Smith, Boston Globe, 1/31
How CT Technologists, MRI Technologists, Mammographers and Ultrasonographers Are Affected by Obesity
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers thirty percent of American adults to be obese, and many areas of imaging are struggling to provide these people with good images and equipment that fits them.
Excess fat often impacts image quality, causing the patient to need more tests and sometimes a longer hospital stay. Also, equipment is stressed more and needs to be replaced more often when being used on obese patients.
The larger the body, the harder it is for an ultrasonographer to get a clear picture. Also, it is more physically demanding for an ultrasonographer to image an obese person, because they must push as close to the internal structures as possible, so if a person is very overweight, the ultrasonographer has to push as far into the excess fat as they can.
As long as the patient fits into the machine, a CT technologist or MRI technologist isn’t affected as much as an ultrasonographer, but there are still issues. A CT technologist can adjust the scan time and range to image large patients more successfully, but this requires that th CT technologist be very knowledgeable and it requires that a larger dose of radiation be given to the patient. MRI technologists will probably be impacted by large patients the least, because machines are coming out in models offering better service for large patients.
Large patients are also a challenge for a mammographer because positioning is tricky and patients get a false positive twenty percent more often than normal or underweight patients do.
There are some advances being made to improve imaging for large patients, but they come at a higher health care cost.
Learn about hiring a CT technologist, MRI technologist, mammographer, or ultrasonographer.
- Long, Sarah (2006, October 2) Limited by Body Habitus. Advance for Imaging and Radiation Thereapy Professionals, 21-23
