Career In Radiology

I hope to continue my education by attending West Virginia University. At WVU, I plan to study to become a radiology technician. I have always dreamed of working in the medical field. Radiology technicians are people who take x-rays, MRIs, mammograms, and images like that. The technician is also in charge of making sure the patient is safe in the process of imaging being taken. After completing my studies at WVU, I wish to find an available job in the state of West Virginia or a surrounding state. I have always dreamed of working the medical field, and being a radiology technician seems to be the career for

Radiologic technologists, often referred to as radiographers, are given the duty of preparing and completing x-rays of patients, as well as the maintenance and upkeep of the imaging equipment involved in this process. MRI technologists serve a similar purpose, although instead of operating and maintaining the equipment required to take x-rays, they have magnetic resonance imaging scanners, more commonly referred to as MRI scanners. Along with the maintenance of the imaging equipment, both radiologic and MRI technologists specialize in the preparation of certain dyes or drinks that make the imaging process easier and more effective.

Once you get your degree, you are required to take a certification exam, which will make you an officially licensed radiologist technician. The starting salary in North Carolina is $52,490 and the starting salary on average is $44,500. The maximum salary in North Carolina is $57,319 and the maximum salary on average is $58,488. (North Carolina) The salary will be different depending on how much experience you have, what type of degree you have, and where you are employed at.

Although I was aware that some rad techs were practicing in some states without a license; I was still surprise by this report, which states that the Sunset Advisory Commission recommends eliminating the need licensure for nearly 20 medical occupations. Including the one we are majoring in. In the last couple months, we have learned a substantial amount of information on patient dose, dose limits, proper shielding and the roles we are going to play as technologist as well as our responsibilities and how the choices that we make can either have a positive or negative effects on our patients if we are not careful or if the radiation is mishandled. This being said what I found even more surprisingly is that the Commission is under the assumption that the “deregulation of radiologic technologist” would have minimal consequences on patient safety.

Radiology Technologist have been around for almost a century. “Radiology Technologist works in various places taking diagnostic imaging examinations for patients, which are x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging, and mammography.” (eHow) This job is one of the few in the world that can give the risk of cancer to the rad-techs. And is stilled one of the most needed in the medical field. Radiology Technologist needs to understand computers and what the x-rays show, and how to set up a patient for and x-ray to be taken. Radiology Technologist are one of the highest paid in the medical field. This is because the job has more risk than any other job in the medical field. The radiology technologists have used x-rays for what has almost been in use

The career path that I am choosing to follow is Diagnostic Medical Sonography. This career involves the use of frequency waves to view tissues; organs and blood flow inside of the body. My main career goals involve getting into the program, then getting a solid career in this profession. From there I plan on growing and getting even more education if it is offered, as well as branching out into other fields of Songraphy.

As per the Foothill Community College Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program Assessment Form, the skills obtained from the program only come after a lengthy list of prerequisites. This includes the completion of a two- year Allied Health Program in Radiologic Technology, Respiratory Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Cardiovascular Technology, Registered Nursing, Veterinary Technology or a degree with significant direct patient care experience. In addition to this advanced experience the student also has to have completed college level Human Anatomy, Physiology

Radiology is a medical specialty that uses different imagaing technologies to diagnose and to treat many different diseases and injuries that are inside the human body. Being a professional in the health care environment today is a very important job. The American Registry of Radiologic Technologist (ARRT) created a mandatory continuing education (CE) exam for all radiologic technologist. The ARRT defines the continuing education requirements as "planned, organized and administered to enhance the knowledge and skills underlying the professional performance that the technologist uses to provide services to patients, the public or the medical profession. To qualify as a CE activity, it must provide sufficient depth and scope of a subject area."

For this Discussion, you will appraise the benefits of health information technology applied to Radiology. In most health care settings radiology departments have been leaders of clinical information technology. Radiology information systems have been transforming clinical and business practices in view of the advancements and versatility of radiology innovations. For decades, radiologists’ interpretations were available only on paper. Transcriptionists converted dictation tapes into text, hence no voice recognition software was available and usually clinical reports were received via fax or by mail, medical orders and notes were written with pen and paper in contrast to actual computerized order entries. In fact,

Always when I was a little kid people always asked me what I wanted to be or what I wanted to do in life and I always told them I’m not sure. Now over the past couple months people have kept asking me more and more but I always say I am not sure. My goals in life are to go to college and get a good paying job, and maybe a family and nice house. Now I've decided I would like to be an x-ray technician.

This career choice certainly did not come easy. It came with a lot of research and consideration. However, the one aspect that did come easy was the countless memories I have with x-rays. I spent a good amount of time as a child and teenager being diagnosed with fractures due to playing recreational/competitive soccer. Each time the doctor would come in with my x-ray, I would begin to analyze the image looking for any blemish that would indicate my fracture. I believe looking at an image that appears complicated is what drives my attraction to the field. Additionally, radiologic technology is an integral part of patient diagnosis, which is another reason why I appeal to it. This career gives me the opportunity to gain knowledge about a subject

I am interested in being a Radiologist because it is in the medical field but I think it is more interesting because you get to look inside people's bodies using an x-ray machine. I would get to work behind the scenes kind of. Radiologists interpret scans done by the technologist and tell what is wrong with the person using CAT, MRI, CT, PET mammography, or ultrasound. I think this job is very important even though nobody hears about it.

There are also many in betweens that fall in radiology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), specials, cath lab, mammography, ultrasound, and nuclear medicine. People can even go into management in the radiology field or expand out into sales of radiology equipment. This field is also always in the top three annual revenue services in every hospital so it is not a field that will be disappearing anytime in the future. With scientific advancements always changing, there are no limits to where radiology can go in the future and may even find new diagnostic studies that can be performed to help more people in need. Although radiology is a great career choice, it does come with its down side. Technologists in many portions of the radiologic sciences are exposed to certain amounts of radiation which has a negative effect on the human body. There are many safety precautions that technologists have to take like wearing lead shields anytime they are in the exam room with patients, and they also must record their employee dose, or their personal radiation intake, by wearing a dosimeter and having the readings checked monthly to insure that they are not getting over radiated over a certain amount of time. Overall, this is a very good career choice and also makes me feel better to potentially help

You never know what you might encounter during a work day as a Radiographer. There are many delicate situations in this field. One of those is performing an x –ray on a child who shows signs of suspected abuse. Radiographers can be a child’s first hope of rescue from an abusive parent or guardian. They can spot suspicious signs of child abuse or confirm acts of abuse on these small patients, and hopefully handle each case accordingly.

I have, over the last few years, developed a great interest in the medical field and how the body functions. I genuinely take joy in helping people and feel being part of their treatment is an excellent in aiding them. I believe a large aspect of my interest with medicine, and specifically radiology, stems from my own experiences with physicians and personal illness.