Radiology - future of radiology

Author

future of radiology

Joseph

2005-01-01, 4:07 am

Hello,

I'm a med-student, considering various specialties

Any ideas, predictions, hopes, fears for the future of radiology as a
profession? All opinions welcome.

Thank you

2005-01-01, 11:08 am

On 1 Jan 2005 01:26:25 -0800, "Joseph" <josephgoro@gmail.com> wrote:

>Hello,
>
>I'm a med-student, considering various specialties
>
>Any ideas, predictions, hopes, fears for the future of radiology as a
>profession? All opinions welcome.
>
>Thank you

More & more radiology services are being outsourced out of the
country. We recently had an offer to read MR from an agency in India.
Both physicians were US board certified.

http://www.outsource2india.com/serv...al_services.asp

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6621014/

Do a Google web search for << teleradiology solutions >>

Ray Laughton

2005-01-01, 7:10 pm

Joseph <josephgoro@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I'm a med-student, considering various specialties
>
> Any ideas, predictions, hopes, fears for the future of radiology as a
> profession? All opinions welcome.

teleradiology is a job-killer, already.
Get ready to live on a bowl of rice/day to keep up with the competition.
Here lie the roots of the future destruction of the internet.

ray

Steve

2005-01-07, 11:09 am

Great, I'm a unix sys admin and my wife is going back to school for her
masters in medical physics. Should we be looking for a new house in India?

"Joseph" <josephgoro@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1104571584.996211.114770@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> Hello,
>
> I'm a med-student, considering various specialties
>
> Any ideas, predictions, hopes, fears for the future of radiology as a
> profession? All opinions welcome.
>
> Thank you
>

me@privacy.net

2005-01-19, 7:11 pm

>On 1 Jan 2005 01:26:25 -0800, "Joseph" <josephgoro@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>More & more radiology services are being outsourced out of the
>country. We recently had an offer to read MR from an agency in India.
>Both physicians were US board certified.
>
>http://www.outsource2india.com/serv...al_services.asp
>
>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6621014/
>
>Do a Google web search for << teleradiology solutions >>
>

But doesn't someone STILL have to take the picture so
that it can be emailed to India?

So are there still opportunities for the radiology
"tech" person?

2005-01-20, 2:07 am

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 13:10:11 -0600, me@privacy.net wrote:

>
>
>But doesn't someone STILL have to take the picture so
>that it can be emailed to India?
>
>So are there still opportunities for the radiology
>"tech" person?

Agreed. You still need the person to get the patient, position the
patient properly, perform the exam, remove the patient, and prepare
for the next patient....etc, etc.
Also, the studies are not exactly emailed. The person doing the
reading merely logs into the server they are stored on. All you really
need is a high speed interconnects between the server and the
internet pipe, and a high speed connection at the other end for the
viewing.

Another good area to get into would be Medical IT, since more and more
patient data is being recorded digitally, and needs to be accessed
from several locations.

Joseph

2005-01-27, 8:43 am

everything can be exported, and the less reliant it is on human
interaction the more exportable it is

so far teleradiology isn't negatively affecting radiologists, but it
has the potential to do so, and that has me worried.

most of this screaming about india outsourcing in medicine is ignoring
the not-yet-apparent issue of rampant yet artificial rad shortage
throughout the country

2005-01-27, 8:43 am

On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 14:30:46 -0600, me@privacy.net wrote:

>Thanks for reply!
>
>
>So is the radiology tech field STILL a good one to get
>into? One that cant be exported? Im 47....and giving
>this career some consideration..... maybe go to school
>full time next fall for it
>
>
>Agreed.
>
>
>The above is another area Im thinking of getting
>into....since Im already into computer aided design
>work (CAD). What you think?

My being an RT is a second career for me, starting after a 21 year
career in the US Air Force. There were few opportunities in my
military related field, and RT looked interesting. I made that
decision in 1989 and don't regret it at all.

me@privacy.net

2005-01-27, 8:43 am

me@privacy.net

2005-01-27, 8:43 am

>My being an RT is a second career for me, starting after a 21 year
>career in the US Air Force. There were few opportunities in my
>military related field, and RT looked interesting. I made that
>decision in 1989 and don't regret it at all.

Can you tell me the EXACT steps you took to achieve
this?

Did you go to a two year college and program? Can you
give me the college name and course name you took?

Thanks so much!

2005-01-27, 8:43 am

On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 11:24:21 -0600, me@privacy.net wrote:

>Can you tell me the EXACT steps you took to achieve
>this?
>
>Did you go to a two year college and program? Can you
>give me the college name and course name you took?
>
>Thanks so much!

First of all: American Society of Radiographic Technologists
www.asrt.org
American Registry of Radiologic Technologists
www.arrt.org

Course name will vary depending on the school, but will be something
like "Radiologic Technology".

I went to a 2 year program. Since I knew when I was going to get out
of the military, I applied for college admission early enough to be
considered/accepted for the semester track that started right after I
got out. I had already taken most of the prerequisites (A&P, math,
physics, English, social sciences, etc) while on active duty, so
basically I only had to take the RT courses.This made things much
easier, since I didn't have to study as many courses simultaneously.
I'd recommend that to anyone planning on entering the profession.
Upon completion of the college program, I took the ARRT registry
examination, and got my "RT", which I strongly recommend to anyone who
takes the time to complete the program, even if your state is not a
licensure state, or does not require registry. The registry exam is
based on anatomy, positioning, radiation protection, and radiation
physics. If I recall, there was a 4 hour time limit.

This web site is to Hillsborough Community college (HCC), in Tampa,
Floridat:
http://www.hccfl.edu/depts/healthsc...aphy/index.html

This web site is from another college (Las Vegas, NV) that I am
familiar with:
http://healthsciences.unlv.edu/Radiography/

There are programs in many of the Universities/Community Colleges
around the country. In the greater Tampa, FL area, there were 5
programs available, subject to residency requirements. Mostly the
county of residence was the determining factor.

If you go to the Joint Review Committee on education in Radiologic
Technology web site http://www.jrcert.org , they have a program
locator where you enter where you live, and it will give you basic
information on the programs there:
http://www.jrcert.org/cert/Search.jsp

Wherever you decide to go, be sure the program is accredited by the
JRCERT. The school should say something like:
From the HCC site:
The graduate of the radiography Program is eligible to take the
American Registry of Radiologic Technologist's (ARRT) examination and
will also be eligible for a State of Florida General Radiographer
license.
The Radiography Program is accredited by the Joint Review Committee on
Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT: 20 North Wacker Drive,
Suite 900, Chicago, IL 60606-2901, (312) 704-5300) in conjunction with
the American Medical Association.
The JRCERT ensures that the educational institutions follow an
established curriculum that complies with their educational standards.

From the UNLV site:
The Radiography curriculum is a two full year, structured program,
accredited by the Joint Review Committee on education Radiologic
Technology.* The curriculum includes required classes in English,
mathematics, computer science and biology; and radiography didactic,
laboratory and clinical courses. Upon successful completion of the
program, the student is awarded a certificate in radiography and is
eligible to take the national American Registry of Radiologic
Technologists' certifying exam in radiography.

* for information on accreditation contact the JRCERT at:
http://www.jrcert.org/
or
JRCERT
20 North Watcher Dr.
Suite 900
Chicago, IL 60606-2901
(312) 704-5300
e-mail: jcert@mail.idt.net

I think that all the accredited programs are pretty much the same, so
I'll describe mine. (Tri-Semester basis). The courses run continuously
without a long summer break. The only breaks were for major holidays,
spring break, etc.
The first semester was a combination of classroom lecture and lab.
Labs were conducted in the 2 live xray rooms on the college campus.
They were used for instruction, and practice (no exposure) positioning
of fellow students. (Towards the end of the first semester, the
instructors conducted a "CUT", eliminating those students who just
didn't get the positioning,and having to touch simulated patients, or
physics basics. Since it only got more difficult from there, it was a
necessary thing. We started with about 45 students, and lost about 25
between the CUT, and student elected drops). The remaining semesters
were combination of classroom, lab and clinical experience in local
hospitals and affiliates in the area. As you go further along in the
semester, the amount of classroom and lab decreases, and the clinical
increases. In the last semester, I think it was 4 days clinical and 1
day classroom.

Clinical is where you will apply what you learned in the classroom.
Students were divided into small groups who stayed together during
clinical rotations. HCC had arrangements with several hospitals in the
Tampa area; Tampa General, St Joseph's Community Hospital, Veterans
Hospital, and university Community Hospital. Students were rotated
through each of the hospitals to get experience with the different
facilities, and the types of patients they care for. Senior students
were also rotated through a major Orthopaedic clinic, a local imaging
center, and the H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. During clinical, you
start working alongside a registered technologist, taking on more and
more responsibility as your experience and confidence increase.
Eventually, you will be pretty much on your own. While on clinical,
you are responsible to the clinical supervisor for that facility. This
person is a college employee who keeps track of attendance, and
student grading & progression. You will be required to complete
"clinical competency" examinations, where you will perform the xray
exam unassisted. (one competency is the wrist, another the forearm,
pretty much every body part, or more complex procedure such as a
barium enema, or small bowel follow through,etc, etc.) Following that,
when the films are no longer needed by the attendings/radiologists,
the films will be pulled by the clinical coordinator, and you will be
quizzed on the anatomy, positioning, technique, etc, etc. Students
must complete the required number of proficiencies to be eligible
for graduation. You are graded based on performance during clinical,
which becomes part of your college record.

BTW there are some 4 year BS-RT programs out there, the only
difference being that the BS-RT program includes the academic courses
for the BS degree, and more management courses. The Radiographic
Technology courses are the same for a 2 or 4 year program. Unless you
plan to go into management, there is not that much of a pay difference
between a staff technologist with an AS or BS degree. You can see
specifics at the ASRT web site "Wage & Salary Survey". In addition,
after you have an associate degree, there are several schools that
offer BS degrees via correspondence, evening residency etc. You can
also look at degrees in public health.

Hope this helps.

me@privacy.net

2005-01-27, 8:43 am

> In addition,
>after you have an associate degree, there are several schools that
>offer BS degrees via correspondence, evening residency etc. You can
>also look at degrees in public health.
>
>Hope this helps.

That helps a LOT ZZ!!

thanks so much for taking the time to explain it all