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Radiology
and Medical Sonography
If
you are a nurse or other medical professional looking for
a change, but don't want to leave the medical field, medical
sonography or radiology may be exactly what you are looking
for. In fact, this may also be the career for you if you want
a medical career that is free of the stress often associated
with being a nurse or physician.
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The
Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences
offers a program and a program. Both of
these programs are designed to prepare graduates for
successful careers at clinics, hospitals, and in other
health care settings. It will help students to gain
the managerial skills needed to direct radiologic services.
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South College offers
an . These programs provide students
with the clinical foundations needed to specialize in
advanced degree programs and imaging specialties and
to work as a radiographer. The curriculum integrates
didactic and clinical instruction and students learn
how to make important decisions regarding radiographic
equipment, technology resources, and more. Programs
are offered at South College's Knoxville,
TN and Asheville, North Carolina campuses.
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Spencerian
College offers
a program at its Lexington
and Louisville, Kentucky campus locations. In these programs, students are prepared
to perform x-ray (radiographic) examinations used in
patient diagnosis and how to create diagnostic quality
radiographs. Students can earn their diplomas in as
little as 9 months and their A.A.S. degrees in 18 to
27 months.
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Ultimate Medical
Academy (UMA) offers
a at its Clearwater
and Tampa, Florida
campus locations. In this program, students learn to
provide radiological support to physicians in a variety
of settings. Coursework includes anatomy, radiological
technology, patient care, medical ethics, equipment
management, and safety. Graduates of this program are
eligible to sit for the DOH Bureau of Radiology BXMO
examination.
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ECPI College
of Technology offers
an at its Charlotte, North Carolina campus.
This program prepares students for careers in radiological
and digital medical imaging. With a focus on electricity
and analog/digital electronics, coursework includes
Radiological Systems, Human Anatomy and Terminology,
Medical Imaging Equipment Troubleshooting and Systems,
and more.
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Duties
of the Job
A radiologist will, of course, take X-rays when so ordered
by a physician. A medical sonography technician will work
with sonograms and sonogram equipment. However, there is a
bit more to it than the obvious.
A
diagnostic medical sonographer works with high frequency sound
waves (called ultra sound) to produce pictures of the inside
of the body. Unlike traditional X-rays, sonography is radiation
free and, in addition to providing information about nearly
any organ or internal part of the body, is also being used
to detect and treat heart disease, and vascular disease. A
sonographer may also help in surgery as the sound waves can
be used to guide a fine needle in a biopsy procedure.
Both
a sonographer and a radiologist will have direct contact with
patients and may at times have to perform procedures that
seem invasive. The professional responsibilities will include
obtaining and recording an accurate patient history, performing
the procedures, analyzing technical information, providing
written summaries to the physicians and collaborating with
physicians and other health care professionals.
A
radiologic technician will have a career similar to that of
the sonographer with the additional responsibility associated
with working with radiation. It is possible for a technician
to work in both sonography and radiology; many radiology technicians
in health care facilities also operate the ultrasound equipment.
Opportunities
and Salaries
Like many other technical careers, radiology and sonography
have become computerized with equipment that requires increasingly
more adept technicians. Where doctors once could take a quick
X-ray in their own offices, many now must keep a technician
on staff. The median salary for a radiologic technician in
the United States as of April 2007 was $44,569, while the
median salary for a sonographer was over $60,000. Nearly every
medical facility requires a radiologic technician or sonographer,
and many need both. You could be working in a hospital, a
clinic, a nursing home, or even a specialized imaging center
that does nothing but take x-rays or sonograms and forward
them to the prescribing doctor.
A
major advantage of a career in radiology or sonographic technology
is that you usually work regular 40 hour per week schedules
with some overtime. If you work in a hospital, those hours
will include some weekends, but your schedule will be relatively
predictable. Finally, you will be performing a much needed
service, but will not be responsible for making diagnosis
or recommendations directly to the patient. Thus you have
will have a “hands-on” but reasonably stress free occupation.
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