Today, most doctors require medical imaging in order to diagnose the diseases and disabilities that their patients have. Through medical imaging, a patient’s body can be seen from the inside without having to do invasive procedures such as surgery to diagnose a problem. Medical imaging jobs have different requirements, but you should be prepared to undergo a fair amount of training before getting started.
Here are some of the various medical imaging careers.
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. A diagnostic medical sonographer is a professional who deals with the ultrasound imaging. At present, most people are acquainted with the ultrasound as a tool that can be used to determine the sex of a pregnant woman’s baby. In reality, however, the ultrasound can be used for a variety of other diagnostic imaging purposes. The diagnostic medical sonographer is in charge of maintaining and using the ultrasound machine. The sonographer must also be able to tell what images are being shown, and how the images can be improved. There are many types of ultrasound technicians, each of which has a specialization. There are neurological sonographers, obstetric sonographers, mammary sonographers and many more.
- Radiologic Technicians. These individuals are responsible for doing routine x-ray procedures. They educate the patient about the procedure, take the x-ray, develop the film and get it ready for the radiologist to read. The film is then filed and the report sent to the patient’s chart. Some x-rays are now digital which deletes the necessity for film storage.
- Radiologist. A radiologist is not just a technician, but is actually a doctor whose primary task is to process and interpret the images and scans from the X-ray machine. While the X-ray technician usually operates the X-ray machine, it is the radiologist who interprets the images. These images are then relayed to the attending physician for the patients, who will provide an appropriate treatment for whatever is identified in the X-rays. Radiologists also perform invasive procedures such as placing stents and blood clot filters as well as aneurysm embolization.
- MRI and CAT Scan Technicians. These images allow the radiologist to see structures inside the body that are not visible by a normal X-ray. The MRI or the Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine, and the CAT scan, or the computerized axial tomography scan usually provide more detailed and more complex medical images that are useful for diagnosis, but are usually more difficult to operate. The technicians must make sure that the patients are prepared for the scan, such as by removing any metallic objects in the patients as in the case of an MRI. Metallic objects should not be present in a patient undergoing an MRI because the MRI makes use of very large and powerful magnets to get images of what is inside the body.
- Nuclear Medicine Technicians. These are the technicians that work with PET scan, SPECT imaging and Scintigraphy. As the name implies, radioisotopes are used in the imaging process. In scintigraphy the isotopes is either injected or taken internally and then a gamma camera with take images and make a two dimensional picture. SPECT requires that the isotope be injected, and then the gamma camera makes a 3D image. A Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan uses a short acting isotope that is mixed with food and eaten. This will show rapidly growing tissues in the body when the resulting images are viewed.
- Mammography Technician. These technicians are responsible for taking radiographic pictures of the breast tissue.
- Education for these careers. Medical imaging professionals require at least a two year associate’s degree, although one year certificate programs are available. A four bachelor’s degree is generally required for radiographic technologists. This level of education is generally required to do complex radiographic procedures and working with more complex equipment. Radiologists are physicians, so that entails undergraduate work, medical school, and residency in radiology.
- License and certification requirements. All medical imaging specialists must have a license and certification in order to practice. Some states require the medical imaging professionals to also get graduate school units in order to maintain their license.
- Salary expectations. Salary varies greatly within this field from $30,000 as the starting salary for a radiologic technician job to $280,000 for an interventional radiologist. Obviously education plays a huge part in salary as well as location and additional skills.
- Job outlook. The growth rate is about 19% for this industry as a whole. New techniques are being discovered and increasingly, a radiology procedure is the first step before a surgical procedure is done.
With these medical imaging jobs in mind, you should be able to determine whether a career in medical imaging is right for you. The field is vast and there are so many different career paths from which to choose. If this field interests you, an amazing array of jobs awaits.