As a college student, you belong to one of the most diverse groups in the population. Some of you are re-entry students, back on campus for the second time; half of all college dropouts return to school within fifteen years. Within in the next few years, older students – most working full time – will make up the majority of college enrollments.
Whether you’re still in your teens, or well into middle age, college may represent a turning point in your life. Whether your are studying for a political science major, or how to become a radiologist school can be a big step. If you’re a young adult, college offers the opportunity to shape your identity, define your goals, forge strong relationships, and prepare you for the future. If you’ve returned to school or are starting college at midlife or later, you may already know what you want and need from school. If you’re taking classes solely to enrich yourself, you can savor the opportunity to make your mind a more interesting place to live for the rest of your life. Knowing how to prevent health problems can help you to reach your goals. Just by educating yourself your likely to improve your health now and in the future. In a study of 2380 Californians, Stanford University researchers found that education may be a better road to health than either more income or a more prestigious job. Many risk factors for disease including; high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and cigarette smoking, decline steadily as education increases regardless of how much money people make. So if you are studying to be a health professional or simply just studying, your health should see a marked improvement.
Health may be a science but living is an art. The principles that can help you understand the science and practice the art are simple and timeless. You may have control over your life and well being than does anything or anyone else. Through the decisions you make and the habits you develop, you can influence how well and perhaps how long you will live. This blog will attempt to define the dimensions of health and provide the information you need to take charge of your well-being.
“How are you doing?” You may hear this question dozens of times each day. “Fine” you answer without even thinking about it. But how often do you actually think about how you are really feeling? How do you really feel about your life? How do you really feel about yourself? Whether you are studying how to become a radiologist or how to become an accountant, these questions apply to you.
While the body has its limits, there’s no reason to tiptoe cautiously through life. We are designed to move, to think, to to act, and to stretch ourselves in every way. Muscles lose their tone if unexercised. Minds stagnate if we don’t open them to new ideas and perspectives. If we don’t make the most of what we are, we risk never discovering what we might become. Health involves more than physical well-being. It is a state of body, mind, and spirit that must be viewed within the context of community, society, and environment. Health and wellness is the art of living.
One of the first physicians to pioneer physician assisted suicide is Timothy E. Quill. In 1991 The New England Journal of Medicine featured a case of “Diane,” a longtime patient of his who was suffering from acute Leukemia. She asked Quill for the means to end her life should she find it intolerable. Unable to dissuade her, he prescribed sleeping pills, telling her how many were necessary to cure insomnia and how many were necessary to commit suicide. Four months later Diane killed herself.
Quill’s article provoked immediate and heated discussions over the legality of physicians’ assisting in suicides. Quill’s self proclaimed goal is to improve the care dying people receive rather then to legalize any form of euthanasia. Nevertheless, he became a central figure in a court case that challenged the constitutionality of state bans on assisted suicide. Quill and other right-to-die advocates essentially argued that terminally ill patients have the constitutional right to assisted suicide. In 1997, however, the Supreme court disagreed, ruling that states may legislate for or against physician-assisted suicide as they see fit. Currently, over 35 states have laws against assisted suicide. Only Oregon has legalized the practice. This week we will be exploring the topic of Euthanasia. Although as a radiologist technician you will rarely encounter terminally ill patients, and would most likely never discuss euthanasia with a patient, it is a controversial topic in Allied Health. Many wonder is Euthanasia ethical? Should doctors be held accountable for their patient’s well-being if they commit suicide? In light of the Michael Jackson case I have decided to explore these questions.
The roots of a liquidity crises that can put a health care organization out of business often has to do with inadequate long-term solvency planning in earlier years. While learning how to become and accountant you might think the best strategy would be the maximization of the organization’s liquidity and solvency, but the answer is not that easy. To prevent bankruptcy in a health care industry might be a little bit more complicated for a manager. Managers have a complex problem with respect to liquidity. Every dollar kept in the liquid form of cash, T-bills, or money market funds, is a dollar that could have been invested back into the organization or even by the organization into some longer term, higher yielding project or investment. However, there is always a trade-off in the area of viability and profitability. The more profitable the manager attempts to make the organization, the lower the liquidity and the grater the possibility of a liquid crises including bankruptcy. The more liquid the organization is, the lower the profits. This is essentially a special case of the trade-off between risk and return discussed earlier.
Similarly there is a trade-off between providing health care services and viability. Sometimes and organization cannot provide all the health care patients might want regardless of their ability to pay. Although providing charity care is often appropriate, there must be limits set here to keep an organization safe. If an organization decides to provide unlimited charity care without consideration of the financial implications, it may threaten its viability or continued existence.
Health care organizations have to temper their desire to provide health care services regardless of ability to pay with their desire to continue in business. It does not do the community any good for a health care provider to provide so much charity care in 1 year that it has to cease operations and declare bankruptcy. It must be cautious financially and only provide a pre-measured amount of charity care so that it can remain viable.
Diagnostic Service workers help with the diagnosis of illness and disease. Some diagnostic service workers have direct contact with the patient/client, whereas others do not. They plan services and prepare and perform tests accurately. They also understand quality control and report results in a timely manner.
Diagnostic medical sonographers use diagnostic ultrasound under the supervision of a physician. They are also called ultrasound technologists. They use equipment to transmit sound waves at high frequencies into the patient’s body, resulting in an image viewed on a screen and automatically recorded on a printout strip or video. The use of ultrasound is important in prenatal care and for cardiology.
Sonographers work in acute care hospitals, in clinics, and sometimes with a group of obstetrics specialists. They work five day weeks and generally have weekends and evenings off.
The requirements to become a radiologist requires: Graduation from an accredited medical school, license to practice medicine in the state of employment, and three years of special training in radiology recognized and approved by the board and by the Council of Medical Education and Hospitals of the American Medical Association.
The requirements to become a radiologic technologist/sonographer/Ultrasound Radiologic Technologist Chief requires: Graduation from an accredited program, a bachelors degree in radiologic technology, experience in two or more radiologic disciplines (e.g. nuclear medicine, radiation therapy) and you need to be registered as a radiologic technologist through the American Registry of Radiologic Technologies (ARRT)
The requirements to become a diagnostic medical technologist requires: High school diploma or equivalent, one-year certificate program, and no experience in a health occupation.
Radiology workers operate x-ray equipment to take pictures of the internal parts of the body. The x-rays provide information for the diagnosis and treatment of patients. For example, x-rays of the chest help detect lung diseases, such as lung cancer and tuberculosis. Some of the diseases or injuries that x-rays help diagnose or treat are ulcers, blood clots, cancer, and fractures. I remember when I was studying how to become an accountant and I got really bad ulcers….I had to get an x-ray to confirm the diagnosis. This is a perfect example of how the use of imaging techniques like ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is growing. The term diagnostic imaging includes these procedures as well as x-ray techniques.
Radiology workers have a variety of job opportunities and may work in general hospitals, physicians offices, trauma centers, chiropractic offices, private consulting offices, clinics, federal and state agencies, public school systems, health maintenance organizations, and ambulatory care facilities. They work indoors and may be in confined areas. They wear protective gloves, aprons, and film badges because the hazards of radiation are present. Shift work and evening work may be part of their schedule. Their work requires the lifting and positioning of patients, standing during most of their shift, and pushing mobile equipment. They may be exposed to body fluids.
The career of a radiologist does not have a ladder like many other allied health fields because there is no assistant or aide position. Radiology is an important career to consider. Some facilities use transport aides in radiology. Being a transport aide a radiology department allows you to learn about the radiology department if you think you are interested in this field but not quite sure.
So you have landed your first job as a radiologist. Hopefully it will be the beginning to a long, fulfilling commitment as well as rewarding. All those long nights of studying and hard work have finally paid off! You’re finally ready to be a radiologist. Before you actually begin your first job as a radiologist be sure to read a copy of your job description.
Every job has a job description. A job description outlines the requirements and responsibilities of your specific position. To do your job correctly, and excel at it, you must know exactly what is expected of you, and what you need to do to meet and exceed those expectations. While taking some time to read your new job description and understand your responsibilities may sound fundamental, most people don’t do it. As a result, they have little idea what their job entails before they clock in for the all-important first day. You don’t want to begin a new job unclear about what you should or shouldn’t be doing….and what is acceptable or unacceptable. It is critical to have a clear idea of your new radiology job before you enter any patient care environment. Start your radiologist career off right by reading and understanding your job description and knowing your responsibilities.
Being a radiologist will be a rewarding career. It is critical to know and understand exactly what you are permitted and not permitted to do. Read your job description to know what the limits are of your new allied health facility and team.
Good Luck!
At some point in your life you’ve likely had, or know someone who’s had an x-ray, ultrasound, or an MRI. The purpose of the visit was likely to diagnose a problem like a broken bone or torn ligament, or to confirm a medical conclusion like pregnancy or gall stones.
The person who coordinates and manages this process is known as a radiologic technologist, and their job entails a lot more than encouraging patients to sit still. In addition to the mentioned technologies, radiologists might also use CT scans, PET scans, and many more. Radiology courses help prepare students to become fully trained radiologists.
If you think a career in radiology is one that might be a good fit for you, check out the list of sub-specialties.
Sub-specialty Training Categories in Radiology
There are more than a dozen sub-categories within the growing medical field of radiology. Here is a snap-shot look some of the most popular ones.
- Ultrasound: Ultrasound technology is one of the most widely used tools in the medical industry. It’s used in radiology as a primary diagnostic tool as well as early human development. Compared to CT, PET, and MRI technologies, it is relatively inexpensive and is thusly a preferred utility in many fields.
- MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is a process that uses strong magnetic fields and a different section of radio frequencies (as compared to PET and CT technologies). The technical process provides imaging that distinguishes contrast between different kinds of body tissue.
- This is especially helpful for identifying pathological tissue (like tumors, cancer), as well as differentiating between muscles, tendons, bones, etc. Compared to CT, X-ray, and PET scans, MRI scans provide a more distinguishable image for diagnostic purposes.
- Emergency Radiology: This sect of radiology involves imaging used to diagnose and subsequently treat acute illness or injury in an emergency setting.
- Breast and Women’s Imaging: An important factor in early detection, breast and women’s imaging is a rapidly expanding field. This kind of technology incorporates both MRI and ultrasound imaging with other mammography techniques.
An Education in Radiology
While most students enrolled in radiology classes are seeking degrees in the same vein, some colleges and universities have recently begun incorporating radiological training into general MD coursework.
Radiology students have several options as far as radiology degrees, and many are now available through online formats. Programs vary from one college to the next, but generally radiologic technologists earn technical degrees (1-2 year curriculum), associate’s degrees (2 year curriculum) or bachelor’s degrees (4 year curriculum) in radiology.
Of note: diagnostic radiologists do not carry same designation as radiologic technologists. Diagnostic radiologists must complete an undergrad degree and then medical school and residency.
Under a defined contribution plan an employer agrees only to make a series of contributions of a specified amount to the pension fund. These periodic cash payments are often based on employee wages or salaries, and each employee’s percentage of interest in the total fund is determined by the proportionate share contributed by the employer on the employee’s behalf. Under this type of the plan, the employer makes no promises regarding how much the employees will receive upon retirement. The actual benefits depend upon the investment performance of the fund. The employer guarantees only the inputs (contributions), not the outputs (benefits). Many healthcare organizations supply employees with a plan like this.
Accounting for a defined contribution plan is relatively simple, because once the employer makes the contribution, the sponsoring company faces no further liability. The cash payment is simply expensed. Defined contribution plans gained popularity throughout the 90’s but have tapered off since the economy has began to struggle and health care reform seems inevitable. An Associated Press article (June 17, 1995) notes that in 1988, 36% of U.S. employees were covered by such plans, which rose to 49% by 1993. Defined contribution plans such as the very common 401 (K)’s are considered much less expensive than defined benefit plans.
A defined benefit plan is different because an employer promises to provide each employee with a specific amount of benefits upon a health care worker’s retirement. Radiologists and other health care workers can benefit from programs offered by their employer to aid in comfortable retirement. While studying to how to become a CPA, I was impressed to discover the extent that health care workers and state employees can still count on benefits from their employer.
Pulmonary nodules and mass lesions are commonly encountered on chest radiographs. Unfortunately, separating benignity from malignancy remains difficult as most nodules encountered have no defining characteristics. Pulmonary nodules may be smooth or spiculated, large or small, single or multiple. Once discovered, it is important to make every attempt to morphologically classify nodules based up on shape, size and border definition. One approach to their diagnosis is to divide them into benign and malignant categories. Spiculated nodules suggest malignancy; however, there are a host of malignant lung nodule that are smoothly marginated, particularly metastatic deposits. Multiple noncalcified nodules suggest a diagnosis of metastatic disease, especially if a primary cancer is known to exist. Gross calcification of a lung nodule suggest a benign diagnosis, specifically granulomatous disease, and these nodules usually do not present much of a diagnostic challenge. Calcifications within granulomatous disease, and these nodules usually do not present much of a diagnostic challenge. Calcifications within granulomas are variable including solid, centrally located nidus, or laminar patterns. If there is doubt as to whether or not a nodule contains calcification, CT imaging can be used to definitively measure the density of the nodule. When the CT density of a polmonary nodule measures greater then 200 Hounsfield units, and the pattern of calcification composes most of the volume of the nodule, a benign entity is confirmed with no further evaluation or surveillance required. On the other hand, any noncalcified nodule necessarily requires further evaluation or surveillance for at least a 2 year period before a diagnosis of benignity can be established. A solitary noncalcified nodule which does not change in size or appearance over a 2 year period is considered benign according to conventional standard of care practices. This rule should be applied by radiologist technicians with caution, since there are always exceptions to the rule, especially when the pretest probability of malignancy is high.
