Radiologic Technologist Career Paper

What is a radiologic technologist? This was a question that I had when I first heard about the career. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015), “Radiologic technologists, also known as radiographers, perform diagnostic imaging examinations, such as x-rays, on patients.” This description became the first piece of knowledge that I received about radiologic technologists before doing more research and eventually applying for college to become one. As a student, there is a large amount of information that I have learned, but there are still many more things to learn before becoming a technologist. The knowledge that I currently have comes from my own research about the career when I was in high school, the research that I did to find

Every class that I am required to take has been contributing to expanding my knowledge of the medical field as a whole, as well as the specifics within radiologic technology. In addition, my clinical experience has had the largest impact on my advances in learning. MCHP requires students to obtain clinical experience at different hospitals in order to become competent on a specific number of general patient care tasks, x-ray exams, and procedures. My clinical experience is currently being obtained mainly at CMMC and Rumford Hospital. Working alongside radiologic technologists for 8-hour days, three days a week, has helped me gain the amount of knowledge that I currently have. Many technologists have shown me special tricks and tips that they use for certain x-rays in order to achieve an optimal x-ray image. For example, Melissa Hatfield, a radiologic technologist at CMMC, demonstrated how placing a wash cloth under the patient’s ankle when performing a lateral knee x-ray on the table will better my chances of acquiring an acceptable image. Since then, I have used this tip for every lateral knee x-ray that I have performed. This has caused me to have better success with imaging knees for the lateral projection. Adding to the hands-on information that many technologists provide, most also take the time to give an explanation of certain procedures or other situations. Christopher Mailhot, a radiologic technologist at CMMC, always gives extensive explanations of what is occurring during surgeries, x-ray exams, procedures, etc. His many years of experience allows him to educate students in great detail on many different aspects of radiologic technology. Guidance and different levels of expertise from each technologist that I work with is beginning to help shape the radiologic technologist that I will soon