Qualifications
Clinical settings can produce high-stress. Students are subordinate to physicians and technologists and must maintain a professional attitude. You must accept constructive criticism and adapt to stressful situations without losing emotional control. You must be flexible to changing situations.
Performance Requirements for the Radiologic Technology Student
The NU Radiologic Technology Program does not discriminate against students on the basis of disabling conditions, and will make reasonable accommodations for those students as outlined by SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY UNIVERSITY v. DAVIS, No. 78-711, June 11,1979,in the Supreme Court of the United States.
Completion of the Associate of Science Degree in Health Science signifies that the holder is eligible to sit for the ARRT certification board exam and is prepared for entry into the profession of radiologic technology. It follows that graduates must have the skills and physical ability to function in a broad variety of clinical situations.Therefore,all students admitted to the program must meet certain physical abilities and expectations.
After consultation with Student Support Services, compensatory learning methods or activities that are equivalent substitutions for established performance standards will be determined. It is the student's responsibility to notify instructors so that accommodations may be considered. If accommodations for that student are unrealistic or extraordinary to meet required goals of the program, the student will be counseled as to other professional interests. Student Support Services and the advisory committee in concert with the clinical site (per affiliation agreements) will make a final determination of the student's capability to meet program goals in the light of appropriate accommodations, keeping patient care and safety in mind at all times.
The following physical/technical standards are required for all students in the NU Radiologic Technology program.
- Mental Processing: A student must be able to make correct observations, and have the skills of measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis. The student will be expected to demonstrate critical thinking in classroom, laboratory, and clinical settings which illustrate an ability to make mature, sensitive, and effective decisions in the following areas:
- relationships with supervisors, peers, and patients
- professional behavior
- the effectiveness of intervention strategies
- an understanding of the rationale and justification on for his/her performance
- Communication skills: Effective communication with professional colleagues, patients, and families is essential to the successful practice of radiologic technology. The radiography student is expected to develop and utilize above average oral and written use of the English language.
- Written Communication: The student must be able to assimilate information from written sources (texts, journals, medical/school records, etc.) and attain, comprehend, retain, and utilize new information presented in written formats. The profession calls not only for the initial learning of a new body of knowledge, but also the continual updating of knowledge from current sources. Students are required not only to utilize information from written sources, but must also produce appropriate written documentation.
- Verbal and Nonverbal Communication: The student must be able to produce the spoken word and to elicit information from patients, supervisors, and peers with skills in describing not only factual information, but the more subtle cues of mood and temperament. Communication must be accurate, sensitive, and efficient.
- Motor Skills: The student must have gross motor, fine motor, and equilibrium functions required to carry out radiographic examinations. General task requirements include:
- Lifting, moving, and pushing bulky and heavy equipment such as overhead tubes, wheelchairs, stretchers, and portable x-ray machines
- Bending or stooping to lift radiographic cassettes
- Fine motor manipulation required to draw-up emergency medications.
- Quick reactions necessary to respond efficiently in any clinical situation.
- Sensory requirements include:
- Seeing clearly to critique radiographic images or observe patients accurately at a distance and close at hand.
- Hearing clearly to communicate accurately with staff or patients and respond to emergency situations.
- Attitude: The student is expected to exhibit professional behavior during his/her participation in classroom and clinical situations. This includes, but is not limited to, appropriate language, flexibility toward change, and acceptance of responsibility for one's own conduct. The student is expected to exhibit a positive attitude toward patients, peers, and supervisors.
To help assess the above expectations and meet health requirements required by affiliation agreements from clinical sites (including proper immunization), the student is required to have a medical doctor complete the school's physical form before the start of clinical rotations.