What courses do you need to take to become an x-ray technician?

Question

How long does it take to get through the courses?

And what EXACTLY does the job consist of?

Answer 1

The correct term is radiologic technologist, not technician (we find that demeaning). It is a 2 year program, 40 hours per week, either through a college or a hospital. I personally think that you get better training at a hospital, and for less money. After you graduate, you take a national exam to become registered.

Courses include anatomy and physiology, physics, positioning, patient care, ethics, medical terminology, pathology, radiation protection, and others.

To tell you EXACTLY what the job consists of would probably take me forever, but basically, besides taking regular x-rays (chest, bones, skull, etc.), you also do live x-ray in operating room cases, portable x-rays in ICU and ER, gastrointestinal exams (upper GI, esophagram, barium enema), hysterosalpingograms (for infertility), IVPs (looks at kidneys, ureters, and bladder), you can do cases in the morgue to find cause of death, and the list goes on and on and on...

You can find information here: https://www.asrt.org/content/RecruitmentandRetention/RecruitmentTools/Career_Brochure.aspx