Success Comes from Within
Becoming a Radiography/MRI Technician
What it is to be a Radiography/MRI Technician
This job entails you to not only be able to perform diagnostic medical imaging exams but for you to be able to speak with many different people, in many different types of situations. Every day is different and no patient is the same. Its an ever changing, ever growing field. Which makes it an exciting one for you to get into!
Job Salary
X-ray Scan
A Day in the Life
As a radiographer/MRI tech you will be following orders from the physician, preparing patients for procedures including taking medical history of the patient and answering any questions they have. You will also be positioning the patient to get the correct image and shielding the rest of there body that is not being photographed. Last but not least you operate the machinery, help determine if more images need to be taken, and keepdetailed patient records.
Purposeful Place
In this field and like many other health care jobs you may be exposed to infectious disease, which is way you always have to keep all your shots up to date. You will also be on your feet for most of your shift and will need to help lift and turn patients who are disabled. As a radiographer you will have to wear a radiation monitoring badge to make sure that you are not being exposed to high levels of radiation. Also A lot of radiographer and MRI techs work full time and some are needed on evenings, weekends, or on call. This is because when you are working in hospitals there are a lot of emergency's and hospitals are open 24 hours a day.
Transforming into your Career
When trying to become a radiographer you do need to take a two year accredited program, and get an associates degree. You will need to take general ed courses and a few prerequisite course before getting into a two year program. You will have classroom and clinical training when in this program. After completing the Radiography program you then may go into post secondary program and get a certificate in MRI, or other diagnostic medical imaging careers that you may be interested in. One other thing you will need to know is that once you complete the program you will have to take a state licensing test to become a licensed technician that can work in a hospital.
What its Worth
The median annual wage for a Radiographer was $54,620 in 2012, and the median annual wage for and MRI tech was $65,360 in 2012.
Career Destination
The outlook for this career is good, its projected to grow 21% for a radiographer tech from 2012-2022 and 24% for an MRI tech from 2012-2022, which is much faster then the average for most other occupations.
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014-15 Edition, Radiologic and MRI Technologists, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/radiologic-technologists.htm (visited August 20, 2015).
Video
From Campus Steps Youtube channel
Radiologic Technologist