What to Expect as a Radiologic Technologist
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Now is a great time to be a radiologic technologist, because employment is predicted to grow faster than average. There is great demand for employees in the health care field in the U.S., largely because the number of older people is growing larger. This blog will offer information about the field of radiologic technology, so that those considering it can make a more informed decision.
Taking x rays and administering nonradioactive materials to patients are the main things that a radiologic technician does. Radiologic technologists have a lot of patient contact, because they explain the x ray procedures to patients, position patients, and then perform the actual scanning. After a radiologic technologist positions the patient, they will cover areas of the patient’s body that do not need to be scanned in order to protect those areas from radiation. The radiologic technologist will then measure the area they intend to radiograph, so that they can set the controls on the x ray machine properly.
A radiologic technologist can expect to be on his/her feet much of the time. Radiologic technologists often have to lift and turn patients, so there is a risk for carpel tunnel syndrome and neck and back strain. Also, a radiologic technologist will often work in darkened rooms, so eye strain can be a risk. Most radiologic technologists work 40 hours per week, but flexible schedules are common.
To become a radiologic technologist, one needs to complete an associate or bachelor’s degree in radiography. Often, a radiologic technologist who wants to be in a managerial position will need to complete a bachelor’s degree. If a radiologic technologist wants to just work in the field, then then it is usually not necessary to complete a bachelor’s degree, because an associate’s will suffice.
Learn about hiring a radiologic technologist or find a job as a radiologic technologist.
Source:
- December 18, 2007. Radiologic Technologists and Technicians. U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos105.htm
How Radiologic Technologists Can Get the Best Image
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
There are four main techniques that a radiologic technologist can employ to adjust x-rays to look their best. If radiologic technologists can master these, less retakes will be necessary, resulting in a lower radiation dose to the patient.
First, radiologic technologists should focus only on the diagnostically relevant areas of each x-ray. If the radiologic technologist focuses too broadly and does not narrow the focus the resulting image can look flat and not have enough contrast. An image that does not have enough contrast will not be useful when the physician is trying to make a diagnosis. Obtaining the right contrast level is usually done by radiologic technologists using a process called grey-scale remapping. Grey-scale mapping is done using a lookup table that maps raw pixel values to display values. Grey-scale mapping is done by entering the correct algorithms in for image processing.
The second technique radiologic technologists can use is called equalization. There was a study done showing that over 90% of images taken that radiologic technologists used equalization on were satisfactory to radiologists for diagnosis, while in contrast only 55% of images that weren’t equalized were satisfactory to radiologists for diagnosis. Equalizing an image is basically darkening areas that are too light and lightening areas that are too dark, while maintaining contrast.
The third way that radiologic technologists can make their images better is called sharpness restoration. When x-rays are taken there is often a blurring effect that is captured. Radiologic technologists can counteract this using certain algorithms.
Finally, radiologic technologists can ensure that default parameters are set in the way that the radiologist who will be looking at the image will prefer.
Learn more about hiring a radiologic technologist.
Source:
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Foos, David (2004, Novemebr) Tapping Power of Digital X-Ray Boosts Workflow. Diagnostic Imaging, 105-113
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.
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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What Risk Does a Radiologic Technologist Face?
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 U.S. Radiologic Technologists study is being done by The University of Minnesota,with the National Cancer Institute and the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists to determine just how risky it is to be a radiologic technologist. This study started in 1982 and has yet to be completed. Although, many findings have already been published.
It was found that a radiologic technologist who began working prior to 1950 has a higher risk of leukemia and breast cancer than one who started working later. After 1950 there was better shielding and technology, and dose limits were set. These factors appear to have lowered the risk substantially. In fact, researchers found that a radiologic technologist actually has a lower risk of dying for any reason than the general U.S. population. However, this is probably because people who are employed in a profession where they do a lot of moving are more likely to be healthy than those who don’t work or work in more sedentary jobs. Also, a radiologic technologist may know more about taking care of their health and have better access to healthcare.
So far it still cannot be said that a radiologic technologist, if all relevant details such as lifestyle and genetics were equal, would not be at greater risk because of their profession. But, on the other hand, it also can not be proven that a radiologic technologist is at a higher risk than anyone else.
These results are promising and a relief to many, but there are still unknown factors and much work to be done. For instance, there are many procedures that have not been around long enough for a radiologic technologist doing them to have developed cancer. For this reason this study is ongoing, and will continue to publish new findings.
- Olmstead, Susan (2006, October 2) Cancer and Your Job: How Safe Are You? Advance for Imaging and Radiation Thereapy Professionals, 17-19
