How Does the Radiologic Technologist Work with Physicians?
Dec 23, 2014 | 9:00 am
Radiologic technologist may sound like a futuristic career, but it is one of the most important positions in modern medical diagnostics, and puts the practitioner on the front line in battle against cancer. Radiation technologist may work with patients and physicians on medical imaging teams (diagnostics) or radiation oncology teams (treatment). They are highly skilled professionals that hold either an associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree, and must be licensed to practice in most states.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that radiation technologist have a median annual salary of $54,620. For those who go on to specialize as an MRI technologist, they are looking at a median annual salary of $65,360.
Working on the Medical Imaging Team
The first way a radiologic technologist works with physicians is as a member of the medical imaging team. On this team, the technologist will be completely responsible for creating quality diagnostic images that will be interpreted by the radiologist. They perform their duties by ensuring that patients are properly positioned within the diagnostic instruments then operate those instruments to create a set of images.
The radiologist will use the images created by the radiologic technologist to diagnose a disease or injury, of course, they may also rule out the existence of a disease or injury as well. As a member of the medical imaging team, the physicians and radiologic technologist will most likely work with the radiologists. They play a vital role on this team since the radiologist will not be able to correctly diagnose or rule out a disease or injury unless the technologist has performed their job flawlessly.
Working on the Radiation Oncology Team
Radiation oncology is the team of medical professionals tasked with treating a number of different types of cancer and consists of the patients’ primary care physician, a radiation oncologist, medical physicist, radiation therapist, and the medical dosimetrist. Both the radiation therapist and medical dosimetrist are special types of radiation technologists.
The medical dosimetrist, as the name suggests, is responsible for determining the radiation dosage amount to be given to the tumor. They work very closely with the medical physicist—their direct supervisor—and the treatment plan devised by the radiation oncologist to calculate the correct dosage distributions. The plan devised by the medical dosimetrist must be sufficient to destroy the cancer while, at the same time, minimize damages to surrounding (non-cancerous) tissue.
The radiation therapist is responsible for administering the targeted radiation dosages as determined by the medical dosimetrist. Radiation therapists must be knowledgeable in radiation safety and patient care, as well as physics and anatomy.
Radiation technologists can work with physicians in a couple of different ways. As part of the medical imaging team, they will work closely with the radiologist to produce high-quality diagnostic images. On the radiation oncology team, they have the opportunity to work with radiation oncologists as well as the patient’s primary physicians. In either case being a radiation technologist can be a rewarding and exciting career choice. If you are interested in becoming a radiation technologist, the next step is to contact local technical colleges in your area for more information.