Rough Draft Exploratory

Delaney Worrix

Johnathan Maxey

English 1001

28 February 2020

Rough draft Exploratory

Have you ever wondered what radiology is? It not just x-rays, in radiology there are several different departments that are all different ways of taking pictures of certain body regions. Radiology consist of different departments such as x-ray, MRI, cat scan etc. My main focus is going to be x-ray (radiologic technologist). The first x-ray was taken in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. He was fiddling around with this device on his wife’s hand that he had made and realized that when he took the picture you could see all of the bones in her hand. Shortly after they had physicians on battlefields using this to look at the soldier’s wounds. Since then x-rays have advanced juristically, but now there are a few questions I have about this career. Some of the questions I have is how much of a demand is there for this job? What kind of schooling do I need to get through to have a job in this field? What is the pay like? If I want to switch from x-ray to MRI what would I need to do, or can I even switch to a different department? Would I be working in a doctor’s office or hospital? Is this a safe department to work in? What is the environment like working in this profession? What are some of the daily things that I would be doing? Am I going to be working on the weekends? What are some of the benefits that I would get working in this position?

BLS is a website where you can find information about almost any job that was created by the government. On an average workday an x-ray technologist sees many different patients. Here is a list of different tasks an x-ray tech does in a day. They first prepare the patient for the image about to be taken, then go on to explain what is going to happen and answer any questions the patient might have about the procedure. They continue on by verifying the name and date of birth of the patient. They also ask about past medical history to make sure that it is okay for you to have this done. They then protect the patient by shielding exposed areas that do not need to be imaged, then position the patient to the proper view of the body that is being pictured. They operate computers to look at pictures that have been taken and to keep medical records in. They also work with other physicians to determine whether other photos need to be taken or if the imagine is not clear enough. The work environment consists mainly of working in hospitals, but they do have x-ray tech who work in doctor’s offices and in outpatient care centers. According to BLS “Radiologic and MRI technologists work in healthcare facilities, and more than half work in hospitals.” (BLS) 

This newspaper article is going to explain how to become a radiologic technologist, look at the median salary for this profession and a few things about the programs you can go into to obtain a degree in this profession. In order to become a radiologic technologist (x-ray tech) you need to start by completing a few years of school. You first need to obtain a two-year associates degree from a college or radiologic technologist school.  Once you have obtained your degree in this field you must take the national exam and become ARRT (American Registry of Radiologic Technologists) certified. As the article states “Radiologic technologists must be confident in their imaging skills and able relate to patients and put them at ease.” (US official news) With this being said going through all of this training they want the patient to feel as comfortable as possible. When certified they can perform diagnostic imagining such as x-rays and other imaging machines. You might be wondering what really is an x-ray? What is it really looking at? Well as the article states “The diagnostic images radiologic technologists capture offers a glimpse inside the body without requiring invasive surgery.” Some other big question people have about this profession is the salary. The article clarifies that “you’ll be part of an in-demand career which has a median annual salary of $57,450 according to the 2018 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.” (US official news) in the next article I’m going to talk about the demand for this job.

This article talks about the demand for this profession (radiologic technologist). This article is based in the Philippines and talks about the health care system demand and medical tourism.  As the article states “Baldoz said that health and wellness, which is central to the medical tourism industry, is one of the 13 key employment generators in the Jobs Fit Labor Market Information” (MENA Reports) The medical field is one is of the top 13 key jobs that is needed in our society. This profession is a hard to fill position and it is in high demand. The position is hard to fill because there is quite a bit of schooling and training needed in order to pursue this job. The article states “We need to fill up this demand by providing the right training and education so that we can create a niche specific in this emerging healthcare market. There is a huge potential in generating quality jobs in medical tourism, Baldoz said.”(MENA Repots) With this being said the author also talks about how we need higher education programs or institutions to learn more about this profession, the equipment being used and to make sure we are learning the right skills. “She also acknowledged the efforts of some higher education institutions which are pioneering in the offering of curricular programs to professionalize the health and wellness occupation.” (MENA Reports) In the next article we will be talking about how happy workers really are in the radiology department.

In this article it is going to explain how happy or not happy workers are in the radiology department, showing statistics from a survey they took on employees to determine whether employees are satisfied in their workplace. Along with how safe they feel in that environment. The article goes into a bit of detail on what the questionnaire/survey asked. The article states “The subject of the questionnaire was related to: (1) the working place, (2) safety of the working environment, (3) satisfaction at the working place, (4) familiarity with educational initiatives within the ESR and (5) reasons and motivation for mobility.” Once they obtained the results from the survey it showed that “A total of 1045 radiologists responded to the questionnaire.” (ESR) With that being said they reviewed the results and looked at everything more in detail. The survey showed that “52.3% were moderately satisfied with their working place.” (ESR) Over half the people in this career are pretty happy with their workplace but why is it only half? Why is it that the other fifty eight percent of the people are not happy in this field? It could be that they don’t like the environment of the hospital or doctor’s office they are working in. The survey also showed that “Of the responders 65.3% considered the working place safe.” (ESR) In my next article I will talk about how safe this work area really is. 

There are a lot of misconceptions when talking about the radiology department or even thinking about a career in this area. When people think of this area of work, they often think that rad techs don’t talk or interact with many patients. Well that is a false statement according to The Concorde Blog they stated that “Radiologic technologists regularly interact with patients and other medical professionals. Radiologists and radiologic technologists are regarded by some as the anti-social introverts of the medical field. Although some radiologic technologists do prefer to keep to themselves, all have the opportunity to interact with others on a regular basis.” (Concorde blog) they are often known as the anti-social group because while working they are in a fast-paced environment and don’t get much time to talk with other people unless you are the patient. A question that is often asked about this career is am I putting myself at risk for health issues in the future? Is this a safe place to work in since there is lots of radiation?  The short answer is no. As the Concorded Blog stated “The health risks associated with radiologic technology are minimal. Although those who worked in radiology prior to 1950 experienced a significantly increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and other health problems, this is less of a problem for today’s radiologists and radiologic technologists. Research from the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics indicates that modern work in radiologic technology does not increase the risk of multiple myeloma, lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, breast cancer or melanoma.” (Concorde Blog) since the 1950’s our technology and safety requirements have improved dramatically making it a lot safer to work in this department, such as using lead aprons to shield ourselves from the radiation while taking pictures.

Some advice I would give to others about this profession is work your butt off! This is one really hard field to get into and the studies are hard, especially medical terminology and anatomy and physiology. Your main goal is to study as much as you can. Form study groups use flash cards and use any material you think might help. Any program you apply for is going to be competitive, but you can’t discourage yourself if you don’t get in the first time just keep working. Hard work does pay off I promise. In the end it will all be worth all the work you did in college and throughout your clinicals too.

In conclusion I still have a few unanswered questions. One of the questions being If I want to switch from x-ray to MRI what would I need to do, or can I even switch to a different department? Another question I could not answer was the benefits that go along with this career. I’m assuming the benefits with this career just may vary from location to location. Along with the days or hours you will work or if you would work on holidays. All of these unanswered questions could be because every location is different, and every job might offer different things to employees. To finish I would like to add that I think I chose a good career to go into. It’s a high demand job and its always going to be something that people need. It’s a tough field but it will be worth it.

Works Cited

United States Department of Labor Bureau Statistics Radiologic Technologist BLS. 6 December 2019.URL

“Things Radiologic Technologist Schools”. US Official News, October 10, 2018 Wednesday. https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:5TFY-H7K1-DXCW-D31X-00000-00&context=1516831. Accessed February 21, 2020.

“Philippines : PHs Rising Status as Top Retirement Haven Boosts Demand for Healthcare Jobs.”MENA Report, 2016. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/docview/1783605466?accountid=2909.

European Society of Radiology (ESR). “Radiology Trainees Forum Survey Report on Workplace Satisfaction, ESR Education, Mobility and Stress Level.” Insights into Imaging, vol. 9, no. 5, Oct. 2018, pp. 755–759. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s13244-018-0649-7.

“Busted: Three Common Myths About Radiologic Technology.” Concorde Career College, Concorde Blog, 7 Feb. 2019, http://www.concorde.edu/about-us/blog/career-tips-advice/radiology-myths.