anyone an xray tech out there... I am considering going throught the program and want some opinions on the job
598323
East coast fl...I am a Surgical Tech but my aunt is head of the Radiography department. X-ray techs are a vital part of the healthcare industry. It is a reliable and growing field. Ask a local hospital if you can do a "shadow" of the department. Tell them you are going to be entering the program and would like to see how and what is envolved. You can also specialize in areas such as ultra sound tech to. YOu can do both and be more valuable. Try payscale.com for pay. Realize though that you have to consider the type of place, Hospital, or private practice, and many times you can get job placement through school. I hope that you really check on this it is a great area of healthcare.
889017
Nurses that I have talked to here in USA find it the most wanted job skill at the present time, and well paid.  They are all suggesting that if they had to do it over they would specialize...radiology,  trauma, office management, etc. as dealing with a bunch of females, and a few men, all day, who argue over time off and holidays, is a pain. Pain management is another good field! good luck.
723798
Wow - we can do loads and yes it's a very rewarding job especially if you get a supportive boss (but trust me there are some real shockers out there!)\nWe do reception. nurse, 4 handed dentistry, assist with implants, ortho, oral surgery, help Pt's, mix products and if your trained and pass your exams in the relevant subjects you can take xrays,give oral health education, assist with GA and RA Pt's. BUT make sure you keep training and educating yourself be the best you can be and enjoy the profession.
341120
Well, hard as in 4 years of college, 4 years of med school, ~6 years after that.  I'm not an MD though.  Depends on where you are, around radiologists make a good living, about 200k i think.  It depends on the location and what they do, some radiologists have their own pratice, some work at a hospital.  If you have your own practice i guess you can make more.  But trust me you'll never survive the 10 years of education reqd if all you care about is the money.  Also all the student loans you'll haev to pay off...it will take a long time before you will be able to actually make that income.
205349
It's a variation on them saying to you, "Tell us about yourself."  However they phrase it, just realize that they are NOT asking you where you were born or for a life history.\n\nWhatever or however they ask, your task it to get them to link you with your chosen field, which is radiology.  Just communicate something about your basic values, an event or influence that got you interested in radiography, and what you've been doing that gives evidence of your interest (doesn't have to be a job).\n\nBut the bottom line is to be yourself.  You've researched the field, you're applying to the program, and you have a strong interest (right?).  Just be sure not to say that it's for the money or job security - that's not what gets people into school.\n\nGood luck!
245808
as far as I know, a radiologist is an MD.  if that's the case, I'm doubting that rad tech courses will count towards your MD.
946925
Yes I was a medical receptioist before I went to college.  It paid almost $10 an hour and had excellent benefits (Sout Dakota)  I really enjoyed the office setting and I would do it again if I had the chance!!  You mostly answer phones and make appointments.  Dealing with the sick can be a little trying at times, especially when they want to hand you a poop sample, YUCK!!  That was the worst part.  I mean what do you say when someone hands you some s hit on a stick?  Thanks for the peice of s hit, and have a good day or what?  They should really have drop boxes for those things....EEEW!
100313
I would think that anything in the health field would be a good career move for Arizona, depending on where in Arizona you wanted to move. There are several areas that are "active adult" which means the majority of people in the area are over 55. Natually, people in this age group have a consistently higher need for medical care, including radiology. Most of these communities are close to either Tucson or Phoenix, so you don't necessarily have to live in a predominately older community to work there. For instance, the community I live in is over 80% over 55, but we are only 30 miles from Tucson, and closer to Sahuarita which is a family oriented community.
106806
Um, yeah, that last guy is just a jerk.  There's no shame in wanting to be a surgical tech or a nurse.  Spending loads of money and several years to become a doctor isn't a trade-off everyone is willing to make.  Anyway, you could always put off nursing school and see how you like the field first.  My dad used to be an OR tech and loved it.  The hours are great and the pay could be worse.
1044199
I would recommend the following:\n1) Do a survey of some of the best dentists in the San Diego Area.\n2) Do a survey of some of the students currently enrolled in the program. \n\nBased on my personal experience, I've found both of the above to be pretty effective.  Professionals are well aware of the best programs because they tend to work with a lot of the programs' graduates and have a good take on how well they were taught in school.  And the students, who are 3 to 4 years into the programs (or close to graduation), are very aware of the pros and cons of their programs and what the competition in other schools are like.  Visit the schools, and get permission from the departments to sit in a couple of the advanced classes.  Before or after the class, talk to the students.  You'll be surprised at how candid they are.\n\nCriteria to determine in putting together your surveys are:\n-- Is the equipment that is used to teach in these schools the latest and greatest in technology? or is it something that was used 10 years ago?\n-- What are the credentials of the professors.  Have they been in academia for their entire professional career, or do they have experience as practitioners (the latter is VERY important, because that means what they teach is grounded in reality)\n-- Is the curriculum well-rounded? Meaning does it provide a good foundation of basic courses/knowledge, as well as courses focusing on specialized or advanced topics.\n-- Is there any assistance with helping you get placed in good jobs.\n-- Do you know where you want to work once you graduate or at least the type of working atomosphere you prefer?  If you do, find out which programs/schools these professionals got their training from.\n\nGood luck!
866961
this is a scam. if you really are interested in this field look into being a nurse or nuse assistant. The medical claims and billing jobs are a scam.
282731
I agree with hyperdrug17.  The money is good, and it is a very cool field, with advancement in CT, MRI, Pet/CT, Nuc, Ultrasound, well you get the picture.
758564
Well I have 2 jobs that I love. The first job is assistance dog training, I love it because its so rewarding to see these dogs making life simpler for the disabled, and the second job is I intern at the hospital as a radiologist, this is what I've always wanted to be.
762839
Yes, you need to become an X-ray technician first. You will have to go to school for two years for that to learn about medical terminology, basic radiation physics, and photographic imaging techniques and chemistry. It gives you an opportunity to work under doctors performing complicated procedures. Starting salary for this is $24,000 a year but you can work up to $65,000 a year. You will need further training to become an ultrasound tech, so you can probably expect to make a little more since this is a more specialized field. Eventually ultrasound tech will probably have its own program (won't have to be an x-ray tech first), but for now, this is the way it is. Good luck and don't let the money stop you if this is something you wanna do!!
634216
I didn't think it was horrible..I took my time studying all the given materials. I think the most frustrating aspect was pouring models - they start to set too early sometimes. Xrays..back up from the patient. If you can see where you're aiming in relation to to the patient's facial structure, you'll get a better xray. I learned too...not to aim it straight toward the tooth: In other words, for #14, raise it slightly higher than the upper jaw, then aim downward toward the tooth. That way, you get a decent shot of the roots too. You don't crop the xray, leaving only the tooth visible on the film. Kinda hard to expain without showing someone in person...But nah, you'll get it. It'll be fine. Good luck!!!
759119
I would ask your vet if they can export it to a regular JPEG.\n\nThe problem with X-Rays is that they represent many more shades of grey than a regular image (or monitor) can support.  As such, you always view a subset of the true image.\n\nThere is way to view all the data, but without a specialized monitor, you are always going to see a subset.\n\nChances are that your x-rays are in DICOM form, and as such, you can use a DICOM viewer, or other tools (such as JDICOM from tiani.com) to view them and/or export them, but if you can get your vet to export it to a regular image with a generic display setting, you'll probably have all you want.
234242
It really depends what state you are in.  In CA, you must go to an accredited radiologic technologist program.  I had to complete about two years of a college, with classes in biology, anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, psychology, algebra, computers etc.  I did this at my local community college.  Then I entered an x-ray program, and we again studied these subjects, but it was more geared towards how they related to the x-ray field.  My x-ray schooling consisted of about 1,700 class room hours and over 2,000 clinical hours.  Upon graduation, I had to pass the state licensing boards, then the national licensing boards.  There really are not many school based programs for CT scanning.  You must be a registered RT.  Normally, you get your training on the job once you've become a RT.  There is a national license for CT, but it is not a requirement.  MRI does not involve radiation, so you do not need your RT license.  But, unless you go to a MRI school (and those are very limited in number), it would be hard to get a job in that field.  There is also a national MRI license, but again it is not required to work in that field.  To find out if your state requires an accredited radiologic program, do a search with your state and "radiologic technologist licensing requirement."  Good luck!