If you’re thinking about working in the field of medical imaging, it’s important to understand the differences between the different kinds of medical imaging procedures and radiology technologies. The field of medical imaging contains a variety of different procedures and specialties, and each requires special training and education. You can’t assume you can just jump from one specialty to another without preparation. That said, since many medical imaging procedures do have a lot in common, you’ll frequently find technicians that specialize in more than one procedure. Health care professionals who work in the field of medical imaging are known as radiologic technicians or technologists. However, those are just blanket terms; most radiologic technicians have additional titles that specifically describe the medical imaging they are involved with.

The most well-known form of medical imaging is radiography, more commonly known as x-rays. Health care professionals who take x-rays are known as x-ray technicians or radiographers. X-ray technicians operate an x-ray machine that aims a small amount of radiation at a particular part of the body. How easily that radiation passes through the body part determines what the x-ray image will look like. For example, x-rays cannot easily pass through bones since the bones absorb the x-rays, which is why the bones appear white on x-ray images. X-rays can pass through soft tissues much more easily, which is why other areas appear darker on x-ray images.

In addition to doing standard x-rays, x-ray technicians may specialize in something called bone densitometry. A bone densitometry technician doesn’t just look at the structure of a bone; they look for the bone mineral density as well. This density can be used to estimate bone loss and risk of fractures. Another medical imaging procedure that uses x-rays is mammography, a procedure specifically designed to image breasts. Mammography usually calls for lower energy x-rays than bone densitometry does.

A very different type of medical imaging that also uses x-rays is computed tomography (CT). CT may use x-rays, but the images produced by CT are not the standard 2-D ones you would expect. During a CT scan, the x-ray machine rotates around the patient, producing multiple 2-D images that a computer combines into a layered 3-D image. Doctors can actually look inside organs thanks to the CT images created by computed tomography technicians.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) creates images through an entirely different process. Instead of x-rays, MRIs use magnets. When a patient undergoes an MRI scan, they are exposed to a magnetic field. The MRI technician turns on a radiofrequency pulse, which causes the atoms in the patient’s body to go out of alignment. After the MRI technician turns off the pulse, the atoms go back to normal. A computer is used to track the movement of the atoms, which results in an MRI image. Whereas x-ray images don’t show soft tissues very well, soft tissues show up perfectly on MRI images, which makes MRI scans ideal for imaging areas of the body such as the brain, vascular system and joints.

Ultrasound, also known as sonography, is another form of medical imaging. As the name suggests, ultrasound uses sound waves to create images. An ultrasound technician, also known as a sonographer, uses a transducer, a special device that both emits and receives high-frequency sound waves. This transducer sends sound waves through the body. The sound waves bounce off the organs and tissues in the body and are received by the transducer. These echoes are converted into images by a computer. Like MRIs, ultrasounds are great for imaging soft tissues. Most people are familiar with ultrasound since it is common for pregnant women to get ultrasounds to determine the well-being and number of the fetuses they are carrying.

Another form of medical imaging is nuclear medicine. Nuclear medicine technicians administer radiopharmaceuticals, which are radioactive materials, to patients. These radiopharmaceuticals are attracted to particular areas of the body, and they emit radiation that can be tracked with a special camera. Nuclear medicine is an especially valuable form of medical imaging because it doesn’t just show the structure of an organ; it also shows how well the organ is functioning. For example, a doctor expects to find a certain concentration of radiation in a particular organ. If the resulting images show higher or lower concentrations of radiation, then the doctor knows that the organ is not functioning correctly. Nuclear medicine is commonly used to image organs such as the brain, lungs, heart, liver, gallbladder, thyroid and bones.

When considering a career in the field of medical imaging, it is important to get clear on the different job titles you’ll encounter. One common mistake people make is to think that radiologists and radiologist assistants perform basically the same job. These people may believe that radiologist assistants are just radiologists-in-training and that, eventually, the assistants will be promoted and become radiologists. However, that is not correct.

A radiologist is medical doctor. Like other medical doctors, radiologists have to go through four years of medical school, get licensed and complete a residency of at least four years. All medical students receive a broad range of medical education in medical school, and during their residency, they are trained in a specific medical field. In addition, many doctors complete a fellowship, which is specialized training that takes one to two more years. When you take into account the fact that a four year undergraduate degree is required to get into medical school, many doctors have had more than 12 years of training.

Most doctors specialize in particular areas. For example, cardiologists are trained to diagnose and treat heart problems, and neurologists are trained to diagnose and treat disorders of the nervous system. Radiologists are trained to diagnose and treat issues through the use of medical imaging. A primary care physician is probably not a radiologist; most of the time, radiologists only get involved when a doctor refers their patient over to the radiology department or has them undergo medical imaging. As a radiologist, you would primarily function as an expert consultant; you would work with the doctor to select the medical imaging procedure that is right for the patient. You would interpret the results and send the patient back for more tests if necessary. In addition to diagnosing, radiologists may be called upon to help treat the patient. Radiation oncologists use radiation to combat cancer, and interventional radiologists participate in minimally invasive image-guided surgery. Radiologists are rarely involved with the creation of the medical images; that task usually falls to a radiologic technologist.

Radiologist assistants, on the other hand, are not medical doctors. The American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) defines a radiologist assistant as “an advanced-level radiologic technologist who works under the supervision of a radiologist to enhance patient care by assisting the radiologist in the diagnostic imaging environment.” Radiologist assistants do not go through nearly as much schooling and training as radiologists do; the minimum degree requirement for a radiologist assistant is a bachelor’s degree.

As a radiologist assistant, your duties would include explaining procedures to patients; obtaining patients’ consent and medical histories; administering substances used in the medical imaging process such as radiopharmaceuticals and contrast agents; evaluating patients before, during and after medical imaging procedures; helping radiologists perform invasive procedures; acting as a liaison between the radiologist and referring doctor; and placing feeding tubes in patients. Under a radiologist’s direct supervision, you would be able to perform fluoroscopes and modify certain imaging procedures. Radiologist assistants and other radiologic technicians are never allowed to diagnose patients. What they are allowed to do is make preliminary observations and recommendations to radiologists and pass along information from a radiologist to another doctor.

The radiologist assistant job title is a recent development; prior to 2002, the job did not exist. The American College of Radiology (ACR) and the ASRT decided to create this new position due to workplace shortages of radiologists and radiologic technologists. Since there weren’t enough radiologists and radiologic technologists, hospitals and doctor’s offices started hiring physician assistants and nurse practitioners and training them in radiology. The ACR and ASRT felt that creating the position of radiologist assistant would help reduce radiologists’ workloads and allow them to spend their time more productively. In addition, since radiologist assistants are advanced-level radiologic technologists, these organizations felt that creating this new position and adding a new level of professional advancement would make becoming a radiologic technologist a more attractive career choice.

If you’re looking to work in a field that has job security and high salaries, then definitely consider becoming a radiologist assistant. Since 1998, there have been more jobs available than radiologists and radiologic technologists to fill them, and it has only gotten worse over time. Because the radiologist assistant position is so new, there are only around ten training programs in the United States, but more programs are being started each year. Radiologist assistant training programs you may want to consider checking out include those at the

• Loma Linda University
• University of Arkansas
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
•  Bloomsburg University

When it comes to the field of medical imaging, many people lump radiologists together with radiation therapists, radiologic technicians and radiologist assistants. However, one of these things is not like the others; radiologists are medical doctors, and radiation therapists, radiologic technicians and radiologist assistants are not.

The title “radiologist” is reserved for medical doctors who have been trained to diagnose and treat ailments with the help of medical imaging procedures; they are the ultimate imaging experts. To become a radiologist, you must attend medical school for four years, pass a licensing exam, do an internship for a year and complete four years of residency. After the residency, you may choose to do a fellowship, which is another one to two years of specialized training. Medical school gives doctors a broad overview of medicine; learning about a particular field takes place during the residency and fellowship periods. In addition to all of this training, radiologists must be board certified by either the American Board of Radiology or the American Osteopathic Board of Radiology.

As a radiologist, you will not be the doctor primarily dealing with the patient; radiologists usually only enter the scene when the doctor in charge asks for a consultation. You will help the doctor decide which medical imaging procedure to perform. Then, you will interpret the resulting medical images and give a diagnosis to the doctor. Some radiologists do more than just look at images; for example, radiation oncologists help treat cancer with radiation, and interventional radiologists aid in performing minimally invasive, image-guided surgery.

Radiologists can specialize in a variety of areas. For example, you may be interested in specializing in breast imaging, a subspecialty that includes mammography, breast biopsies, breast MRIs and breast ultrasounds. Cardiovascular radiologists use x-rays, CAT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds to look at the heart and blood vessels, and chest radiologists help perform procedures that require medical imaging such as lung biopsies and draining fluid from the chest or heart. Emergency radiologists look at medical images of conditions that require emergency attention, and pediatric radiologists specialize in dealing with children.

A radiation therapist, on the other hand, performs a completely different role. For starters, radiation therapists only deal with cancer. As a radiation therapist, you will be a part of a medical radiation oncology team. Your primary job will be to operate a machine called a linear accelerator. The most common procedure that you will perform with a linear accelerator is external beam therapy. In external beam therapy, cancer cells are bombarded with high-energy x-rays. The hope is that these x-rays will shrink and eliminate cancer cells. Sometimes, radiation therapy is the only treatment that the patient receives; other times, the treatment consists of a combination of radiation therapy, surgery and chemotherapy.

Radiation therapists are not doctors, and thus, you will not be allowed to interpret medical images or deliver results to patients. However, your duties will include helping your team create a treatment plan. Your contribution will be to use an x-ray machine or computer tomography scanner to create medical images and find the exact location of the tumor. These medical images will be passed on to the radiation oncologist. Once the oncologist develops the treatment plan, you will put it into action by explaining the treatment to the patient, positioning the patient and the linear accelerator correctly and operating the linear accelerator from another room. The radiation therapist is responsible for making sure the patient remains calm and does not experience any bad side effects during the treatment.

Radiation therapists need to be highly detailed individuals; one significant part of the job includes keeping exact records of patients’ treatments. Important things that you will need to record include the dose of radiation used in any particular treatment, the amount of radiation used in the overall treatment, what part of the body is being treated and how the patient is responding to treatment. Without these notes, the radiation oncologist will not be able to determine if the treatment is working or not.

Unlike a radiologist, who spends more than 12 years being educated and trained, a radiation therapist only needs an associate degree or bachelor’s degree in radiation therapy. Another way to become a radiation therapist is to have an associate degree or bachelor’s degree in radiography plus a certificate in radiation therapy. Classes you can expect to take include radiation therapy procedures, physics, anatomy, physiology, computer science and research methodology. It’s a good idea to get certified by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT); employers like hiring certified radiation therapists, and some states require you to be certified as a licensing requirement.

If you want to become a radiologic technician, you’ll have to undergo education and training; maybe you can walk into a grocery store with absolutely no experience and still manage to get hired as a cashier, but that’s not how it works for radiologic technicians. If you are a high school student interested in the medical imaging field, take as many math, physics, computer, chemistry and biology classes as you can. Make sure to get good grades in these classes and in the rest of your classes; the higher your grades, the more options you’ll have when it comes time to select a medical imaging program. For most of these programs, the most important prerequisite is that you have a high school diploma or GED.
It’s also a good idea to volunteer at a hospital or doctor’s office. Volunteering isn’t just the kind of thing that admissions officers love; it is a great way to get an opportunity to visit the radiology department of a hospital or talk to some radiologic technicians. You’ll have a leg up on the competition if you actually have hands-on experience in a medical setting. In addition, you can use your time volunteering to figure out if you actually want to work in the medical field. For example, if during your time at a hospital, you realize that you don’t have what it takes to work in the medical field, you can change your career plans very easily; it’s a lot harder to change your career plans after you’ve invested thousands of dollars and several months in a program.

Once you have acquired a high school diploma or GED, your next step is to find a program. You can start by requesting information from schools that you find promising. You may not want to look at schools that are not approved by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) because if you go to a school that is not approved by the ARRT, you will not be able to get certified by the ARRT. You can find a list of ARRT approved schools on the ARRT’s website. Some approved schools include :

• City College of San Francisco in San Francisco, California
• Aims Community College in Greeley, Colorado
• Edison State College in Fort Myers, Florida
• East-West University in Chicago, Illinois
• Our Lady of the Lake College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey

After graduation, you should look into getting certified by the ARRT. Although certification is not mandatory, it is highly recommended. For example, many states require radiologic technicians to be licensed, and oftentimes, they use the ARRT’s certification exams for their own state licensing. If you have to take the certification exams in order to be licensed, why not kill two birds with one stone and get certified as well? Even if you live in a state that does not require you to be licensed, employers still prefer to hire certified radiologic technicians. Hiring a certified radiologic technician means that the ARRT is guaranteeing that the employer is getting an employee who has received a certain level of education.

Currently, the ARRT allows individuals without degrees to become certified. This means that people who only have certificates can be certified by the ARRT. However, starting in 2015, the ARRT will require people to have a minimum of an associate degree to qualify for certification. This associate degree does not have to be in the field of radiological sciences; any degree will meet the requirement. If you were certified before 2015, this requirement will not apply to you. The reason why the ARRT decided to create this requirement is because the organization feels that taking general education classes will further radiologic technicians’ cognitive, interpersonal and communication skills and make them better at their jobs. 

Don’t think that receiving your certification means that you are done with education. Radiologic technicians are required to register with the ARRT each year to maintain their certification. One requirement for registration is that you need to report 24 credits of continuing education classes every year. There are two ways to meet this requirement: You can either pass an ARRT approved exam, or you can actually take classes. Classes that meet ARRT requirements include things like activities approved by Recognized CE Evaluation Mechanisms; advanced CPR certification; relevant academic courses taken through accredited schools; and activities undertaken for licensing purposes in certain states.

Congratulations, you’ve just graduated from a radiologic technology program. Your proud relatives swarm around you, admiring your graduation gown and peeking at your degree. Your aunt remarks on how nice it is that you’ve finally jumped over all the hurdles and are now ready to enter the job market. Unfortunately, you have to tell your aunt that it’s not quite over yet.

 What your aunt doesn’t realize is that you have yet to be licensed and certified as a radiologic technician. Most people tend to confuse licensing and certification, but they are two different things. Licensing is done by the state; when the state licenses a radiologic technician, it means that the state is granting the technician authority to practice within that state. Licensing requirements differ from state to state. For example, in some states, you need to submit your licensing application before you start working, and in other states, you just need to submit the results of your licensing exam. Licensing is mandatory in many states. Around two-thirds of the states require radiologic technicians to be licensed; some of these states include New York, California, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, South Carolina and Washington.

Certification, on the other hand, is a voluntary process. Radiologic technicians are certified by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT). The ARRT grants a certificate to eligible radiologic technicians. To keep the certificate valid, you need to register it every year with the ARRT. Certification gives you the right to use the title Registered Technologist (R.T.) after your name; however, if you don’t renew your certification through the registration process, you will not be allowed to continue using that title.

Although licensing and certification are not the same, they share one important thing: Many states utilize ARRT certification exams for state licensing purposes. This means that the same exams are being administered for both licensing and certification purposes. If you live in a state that requires licensing, then you may as well get certified since you’re taking the test anyway. If you live in a state that doesn’t require licensing, you should still get certified because employers prefer to hire certified radiologic technicians over uncertified ones.

Currently, the ARRT offers certification in the fields of radiography, radiation therapy, sonography, nuclear medicine technology and magnetic resonance imaging. To become ARRT certified, you need to meet three requirements. The ARRT calls these requirements “The ARRT Equation for Excellence.” The first requirement has to do with your education. To be eligible for ARRT certification, you must attend a school that has been approved by the ARRT. Either the ARRT will approve the school based on its own criteria, or it will accept schools that have already been approved by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or the United States Department of Education. When evaluating schools, the ARRT takes into account things like the curriculum, faculty, facilities, fiscal capacity, student support services, student outcomes, recruiting and admissions practices and record of student complaints. The education requirement also covers the issue of continuing education; if you want to maintain your certification, you need to take continuing education classes throughout the rest of your career.

The next requirement has to do with ethics: You need to comply with the ARRT Standards of Ethics to be eligible for both initial certification and ongoing registration. Violations that may disqualify you from being certified include misdemeanor charges and convictions, felony charges and convictions, military court-martials, disciplinary actions by a state or federal agency and honor code violations. The third requirement has to do with examinations: You need to pass ARRT exams in the fields of your choosing. Only once you have achieved these three things will the ARRT certify you.

Currently, the ARRT only requires you to attend an approved school; the type of degree you receive is not important. However, starting in 2015, all radiologic technicians will need to have an associate degree at a minimum in order to be eligible for certification. The degree need not be in the medical imaging field, which means that people who have already have degrees will only need to undergo training or get certificates in order to qualify for ARRT certification. The ARRT created this requirement because it felt that general education degree requirements contributed to important things like cognitive and communication skills, psychological insights and sociological understanding. People who will get certified before 2015 don’t have anything to worry about; the degree requirement will not affect them.

If you’re interested in working in a field that offers great salaries and plenty of  job opportunities, look no further than medical imaging. People who work in the field of medical imaging are known as radiologic technicians.  A more common moniker is known as “x-ray technicians”.  Radiologic technicians have gone to school to learn about things like patient positioning, equipment protocols, radiation safety, anatomy, examination techniques, patient care and radiation protection. As a radiologic technician, you will have the opportunity to specialize in one or more specific medical imaging techniques. For example, you may decide to specialize in x-rays, bone densitometry, computed tomography, mammography or cardiovascular-interventional radiology. You may also consider going into magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear medicine, sonography, radiation therapy or quality management.
In 2010, the radiologic technology profession made headlines when it was selected as one of the U.S. News and World Report’s 50 Best Careers of 2011. This was a big deal for the medical imaging field; with the economy finally starting to improve, people looking to find jobs or change careers were bound to take into account such information when it came to selecting a field in which to work. U.S. News based its analysis on information provided by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS estimates that the radiologic technician job market will grow faster than average. According to the BLS, in 2008, there were 214,700 jobs, and it estimates that the number of jobs in this field will jump to 251,700 by 2018, which is a 17 percent increase. The BLS says that these 37,000 jobs will be created in response to the aging baby boomer population; with so many people aging all at once and suffering from illness or injuries, more and more people will need medical imaging. In addition, because medical imaging is becoming increasingly accurate and advanced, it is used more frequently for early detection of diseases. Since early disease detection usually results in a lower cost of treatment on a long-term basis, insurance companies will be happy to reimburse the cost of medical imaging procedures more often.

In 2008, the median annual wage for a radiologic technician was $52,210, and 50 percent of all radiologic technicians made between $42,710 and $63,010. More than 60 percent of jobs in this field can be found in hospitals; other places where radiologic technicians work include doctor’s offices, diagnostic laboratories, mobile medical imaging units and outpatient care centers. Thanks to medical imaging equipment becoming less expensive, more doctor’s offices are purchasing their own equipment and doing medical imaging onsite instead of referring patients elsewhere to have these procedures performed.

Like the BLS, Kyle Thornton, the department chair of the medical imaging program at the City College of San Francisco, feels that going into radiologic technology even after 2011 is a great idea. However, Thornton notes that this field is not for everyone; oftentimes, you will have to deal with very ill patients, and it can be difficult to work with doctors and nurses in high pressure situations. Although radiologic technicians can make good money, don’t consider going into this field just for the big bucks; if you’re not interested first and foremost in helping people, then this isn’t the field for you.

The BLS suggests that if you want to have the best possible employment opportunities, you should specialize in more than one medical imaging procedure. Technicians with extensive experience and the right training can aim for high level positions such as supervisor, chief radiologic technician or department administrator. You may also need to get additional education in order to advance your career. Most radiologic technicians start out with associate degrees, and some people choose to get certificates or bachelor’s degrees instead.

However, having a degree isn’t enough for most radiologic technicians; many go on to get certified by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) as well. Getting ARRT certification is a great way to make yourself into a more attractive candidate. There are two main reasons to get ARRT certification. The first reason is that many states will require you to be licensed. As part of the licensing process, the states may use the same exams administered by the ARRT for certification purposes. If you have to take the exams to get licensed, why not kill two birds with one stone and get certified as well? The second reason to get ARRT certification is that although it may not be mandatory, employers prefer candidates who have gone the extra mile and become certified; employers feel good about hiring candidates who have essentially been prescreened by a respectable organization.

The career field of medical imaging is doing very well these days.  Nationwide, there are a wide variety of job openings, and the expectation is that even more jobs are going to be created in the near future. However, this does not mean that the great jobs will drop right into your lap without a diligent effort on your part. To land your dream job in the radiologic technology field, you’ll have to do some work. Here are a few tips to help you secure employment and get you the job you have always wanted.

You should start thinking about your job prospects even before you are actually ready to enter the workforce. For example, you may want to consider getting a bachelor’s degree instead of an associate degree. The majority of radiologic technicians have either certificates or associate degrees, and by getting a bachelor’s degree, you will stand out more. Attending a school with a good reputation in the field of medical imaging will also result in better job prospects. You should only go to a school that is approved by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT). There are two reasons for this; the first reason is because the ARRT has strict educational requirements for schools that it approves, and if you’ve attended an ARRT approved school, employers will rightfully assume that you have gone through a rigorous program that provides quality education. The second reason to attend an ARRT approved school is because this is a requirement for ARRT certification. ARRT certification is not mandatory, but getting certified will make you a more attractive candidate.

One excellent way to get a leg up on your competition is to do an internship during your educational program. An internship is a win-win situation for both you and your mentors; you get free training from professionals, and they get free help. Most internships combine hands-on clinical experience with classroom instruction. Typically, formal clinical internships in the medical imaging field are a part of the education process; many schools will not award you your degree if you do not do an internship. When you have completed your degree, in addition to receiving the actual degree, you may also receive a clinical internship completion certificate. Some internship programs are operated by the school that you are attending; others are stand-alone programs that are not affiliated with the school.

During your internship, you will be exposed to different kinds of medical imaging. If you’re not sure which medical imaging procedure you want to specialize in, then this can be quite helpful. In addition, the most attractive candidates on the market are the ones who know multiple medical imaging techniques, so learn as much as you can while interning! You will meet many radiologic technicians and other health care professionals during your internship; make sure to talk to them, and cultivate relationships with them. These people may have valuable information for you, and if you need a reference later on, these would be the people to ask. Be on your best behavior while interning since many hospitals and clinics like to offer jobs to the best interns; internships are basically recruiting tools for many institutions.

In today’s digital age, it’s a good idea to be active online. You can talk to other job seekers and get information about potential jobs on online job boards the likes of IHireRadiology, Radworking, MedicalWorkers.com and MedHunters. You can also find job opportunities on general employment websites like Craigslist, Indeed.com and SimplyHired. One major mistake people make while searching for jobs is to have a bad resume. You may have gone to the best medical imaging school possible and gotten the best grades in your class, but if you have an ugly and hard to read resume, no one will notice or care. Take some time to craft your resume; there are plenty of examples available online for you to look at. It’s also a good idea to write a cover letter; although employers may not require a cover letter as a part of the application process, it’s a good idea to include one anyway. At a minimum, a cover letter is an introduction to your resume, but you can do so much more with it than just that; for example, in a cover letter you can go more in-depth about important skills you have acquired. You can demonstrate your ability to communicate well in writing through a cover letter, and by personalizing each cover letter, you can indicate to the potential employer that you aren’t just casually sending out resumes en masse.

Every day, tens of thousands of people get x-rays or other forms of medical imaging. Commonly used medical imaging procedures include x-rays, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine scans, bone density scans and ultrasound. A mother who suspects that her son has broken his arm may demand for him to be x-rayed; a man suspected of having a stroke may undergo a CT scan. A patient suffering from spinal problems may undergo an MRI scan, and a person having problems with their heart may benefit from a nuclear medicine procedure. If an elderly father has been hunched over frequently, he may need to have a bone density scan, and pregnant women commonly undergo ultrasound procedures to determine the sex of their babies.

All of these medical imaging procedures are performed by health care professionals known as radiologic technologists. After doctors and nurses, radiologic technologists are the third largest category of health care professionals. With so many radiologic technologists filling important roles in hospitals, clinics and private doctors’ offices, it’s important that radiologic technologists have the proper qualifications in order to provide the best possible patient care. If you’re interested in becoming a radiologic technologist, read on to find out what you’ll have to do in order to become certified.

The organization that has taken on the job of making sure that radiologic technologists in the United States are providing high quality care is the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT). The ARRT tests, certifies and registers more than 250,000 radiologic technologists each year in order to uphold the rigorous standards of the profession. If you have made it through both classroom and clinical education, passed certain tests and met the ethics requirements set out by the ARRT, you will receive the designation “R.T.” which stands for Registered Technologist.  But the ARRT’s involvement doesn’t end there; if you want to retain that R.T. designation, you will have to re-register that certificate each year, undergo continuing education and make sure you are complying with ARRT guidelines.

• Radiograpy
• Nuclear Medicine Technology
• Radiation Therapy
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Sonography

Although certification by the ARRT is not mandatory, it is a good idea to become certified anyway. Some states require you to be licensed, and they use ARRT certification as part of the licensing requirements. If you live in a state that doesn’t require licensing, you should still be certified because employers are more likely to hire someone who is certified than someone who is not. Patients who realize you have gone the extra mile in becoming certified will feel assured that they are in capable hands.

The first step in the process of becoming a qualified radiologic technologist starts before you ever get in touch with the ARRT; you need to make sure that the educational program you will be attending is approved by the ARRT. It may be cheaper or more convenient to attend a program that does not have ARRT approval, but in the long run, it may cost you more when you cannot get ARRT certification. The ARRT approves programs that are based on educational standards it has developed, and it also accepts programs that are recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the United States Department of Education (USDE). Under current ARRT requirements, you are eligible for certification if you attend a program that does not grant a degree. However, after 2015, the ARRT is changing its requirements; you will need to have, at a minimum, an associate degree to qualify for ARRT certification. This degree does not have to be in the field of radiologic sciences.   If you would like to find a list of schools that meet the appropriate requirements, please check out this link:   https://www.arrt.org/Education/Educational-Programs

After you have graduated from an ARRT approved program, you will have to pass a certification exam. You will be allowed to take the test three times over a period of three years. After you have passed the exam, if you agree to comply with the ARRT’s ethic standards, then you are qualified to become certified by the ARRT. However, this is not the end of your interaction with the ARRT. You will need to register with them each year in order to maintain this certification. Requirements for annual registration include complying with the ARRT’s rules and regulations, continuing to comply with the ARRT’s ethics standards and going to continuing education classes that meet ARRT requirements. If you keep up to date with your registration, you will be allowed to continue using the initials “R.T.” after your name and to advertise the fact that you are certified by the ARRT, but if you let your registration lapse, you will not be allowed to do so anymore.

Radiologic technicians are health care professionals who perform medical imaging procedures. Common medical imaging procedures include x-rays, computed tomography, mammography, ultrasounds, magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear medicine. As a radiologic technician, your primary responsibilities will include preparing patients for procedures, positioning the patients and machines correctly to produce the best possible images, adjusting and maintaining equipment, protecting yourself and your patients from unnecessary exposure to radiation and keeping patient records. The majority of radiologic technicians find themselves working in hospitals. However, there are also positions available in mobile medical imaging units, outpatient care centers, medical laboratories and doctor’s offices.

If you are interested in becoming a radiologic technician, the first thing you need to do is find a good school. Typically, programs for radiologic technicians lead to certificates, associate degrees or bachelor’s degrees. Many radiologic technicians choose to get degrees in the field of radiography. As of 2009, in the United States, there are 213 radiography programs that offer certificates, 397 programs that offer associate degrees and 35 programs that offer bachelor’s degrees.

If you have no experience working in a medical setting, you should consider getting an associate degree, which will take around two years. An associate degree will provide you with the minimum amount of training necessary to qualify you as an entry level radiologic technician; most employers won’t consider hiring a newcomer to the medical field who has no degree or only a certificate. In a two year associate degree program, you’ll learn things like basic medical terminology, how to use medical imaging equipment and how to manage patient records. You can expect to take classes in subjects such as radiation physics, principles of imaging, medical ethics, anatomy, physiology, radiobiology, pathology and radiation protection.

If you have dreams of eventually supervising or teaching, you should consider getting a bachelor’s degree instead of an associate degree. If you’ve already had experience in the medical field, then you may only need to get a certificate; for example, nurses who are interested in becoming radiologic technicians already have the medical experience, and all they need is the medical imaging training.

During your search for a school, one important decision you will have to make is whether you will be attending a physical school or taking online classes. You will learn the same material no matter which path you choose. Typically, students taking online classes never have to set foot in a physical location, but in this type of program, at some point, you will be required to get on-site training at a medical facility. The nice part about having online classes is that you can attend school from anywhere in the world. In addition, online classes are far more flexible than regular classes; since you don’t necessarily have set hours in which you have to be in class, you can tailor your schedule to your needs.

It’s a good idea to go to a school approved by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT). Attending an ARRT approved school is a requirement for getting certified by the ARRT. ARRT certification, while not mandatory, is something that all radiologic technicians should seriously consider getting. In addition, if you go to an ARRT approved school, you can rest assured in knowing that your program meets basic educational standards. The ARRT has its own criteria for approving schools, and it also approves schools that have been recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the United States Department of Education (USDE). Some criteria that the ARRT takes into consideration when looking at schools include what the curriculum consists of, what the teacher-student ratio is, the quality of the faculty, if the school has up to date equipment and well equipped facilities, if the students are provided with support services, the academic calendar, grading systems, student outcomes and student complaints against the program.

Visit the ARRT website to find a list of ARRT approved programs. Some excellent radiologic technician programs can be found at the

• University of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska
• Cypress College in Cypress, California
• Kaiser Permanente School in Richmond, California
• St. James Mercy Hospital in Hornell, New York
• Florida State College in Jacksonville, Florida
• St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, Texas
•  Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont

Don’t just rely on ARRT approval; befriend some radiologic technicians and ask them for school recommendations. ARRT approval counts for a lot, but it doesn’t necessarily tell you things like when classes start, if the program helps you with job placement, how much the tuition is and how much you’ll be spending on textbooks.

 Nuclear Medicine Technician vs. X-Ray Technician-  What is the difference?

When you are looking for jobs in the field of medical imaging, you are bound to start getting confused at some point; it can be hard to differentiate between the different kinds of technicians. Take a nuclear medicine technologist and an x-ray technician, for example. X-rays and nuclear materials both emit radiation, so these must be the exact same job, right? Wrong. Although there are many similarities between a nuclear medicine technologist and an x-ray technician, there are some important distinctions to make between the two jobs.

 To understand what a nuclear medicine technologist does, you first need to understand what radiopharmaceuticals are. Radiopharmaceuticals are radioactive materials that contain radionuclides, which are unstable atoms. Thanks to their precarious nature, radionuclides emit radiation spontaneously. When radiopharmaceuticals are introduced into a patient’s body, they are attracted to specific parts of the body. The radiopharmaceuticals may be ingested, inhaled by or injected into the patient. Nuclear medicine technologists are responsible for administering these radiopharmaceuticals to patients.

But how does making a patient swallow a radioactive substance aid in the creation of images? Well, as the radiopharmaceuticals make their way through the body, the radiation they emit can be tracked with a gamma or PET camera. The camera is hooked up to a computer that receives the information and uses it to form images of the organ in question. If an organ is functioning correctly, then you would expect to see a certain concentration of radioactivity. However, if you see more or less radioactivity than expected, then something is wrong with the organ. What’s really interesting about nuclear medicine is that it is the only form of diagnostic imaging that analyzes the function of an organ instead of only the structure; you get to see how an organ works instead of just what it looks like.

If you choose to specialize in nuclear medicine, you have two options: nuclear cardiology or positron emission topography (PET). As the name indicates, nuclear cardiology has to do with creating images of the heart. The major difference between regular nuclear medicine and nuclear cardiology is that the patient is required to perform exercise while undergoing a nuclear cardiology procedure so that the camera can capture images of the heart hard at work. If you specialize in PET, you’ll get to use a special camera that produces 3-D images instead of the usual 2-D ones.

X-ray technicians, sometimes known as radiographers, do not administer radiopharmaceuticals; if they’re administering anything to a patient, it’s probably a contrast medium such as a barium compound designed to make soft tissue show up more clearly on x-rays. X-rays are a form of radiation, and when an x-ray technician uses an x-ray machine on a patient, the radiation passes through the patient’s body and then comes into contact with a special film. If the radiation has a hard time penetrating a part of the body, like a bone, then it shows up as white on the resulting image. If the radiation is able to easily penetrate a part of the body, like a lung, then it shows up as black on the resulting image. Other parts of the body, depending on what they are made of and how dense they are, may show up as various shades of gray.

Although nuclear medicine technologists and x-ray technicians use radiation in very different ways to get medical images, their actual day-to-day work is quite similar. Both jobs require you to administer substances to patients, position the patients and the camera correctly in order to get the best images, explain the procedure to patients and make sure that both you and the patients are exposed to as little radiation as possible. Nuclear medicine technologists and x-ray technicians also are required to keep meticulous records detailing the patient’s treatments. People in both professions can anticipate a physically demanding job that keeps them on their feet for most of the day and requires them to be able to lift and move patients. Do not assume that nuclear medicine exposes you to more radiation than x-rays do; in reality, during a nuclear medicine imaging session, the amount of radiation you are exposed to is similar to the amount you would be exposed to during an x-ray procedure.

Students interested in these professions will need to go to school for a certificate, associate degree or bachelor’s degree. In addition to degree requirements, many states and employers require nuclear medicine technologists and x-ray technicians to be licensed and certified. The number of jobs available for nuclear medicine technologists and x-ray technicians is expected to grow in the future. However, there will be more competition for jobs as nuclear medicine technologists; if you’re looking for a field that’s easier to break into, become an x-ray technician. Both professions make good money; in 2008, the median annual salary was $66,660 for a nuclear medicine technologist and $52,210 for an x-ray technician.