The radiologist rolled the patient down the long cold hallway. Staring at the ceiling, the patient wondering what was going on. The sound of the MRI machine humming and heat radiating off of it, the patient was in critical condition and in pain. As the doctors read the MRI scan, the MRI tech stays with the patient to make sure everything runs smoothly. The radiologist read the MRI scan to figure out what is going on and soon finds the patient has four broken vertebrates, L1-L4. The radiologist comes to the conclusion that the patient need back surgery to help heal properly.
Diagnosing a patient’s injury and disease through technology is the radiologist speciality. As one prepares for a future in the field of radiology, one must consider the history, the educational requirements, the benefits and potential for advancement, and the duties and responsibilities of a radiologist.
Before the use or x-ray in the medical field, doctors and healers had to rely on what they could see with their eyes and feel with their hands in order to diagnose patients.
This all changed when Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered x-rays. X-rays use to be done with glass vacuum tube that contains two differently charged electrodes, one of which gives off electrons (Radiologic Technologists 89). When the electrons travel from one electrode to the other, some of the energy they emit is X-radiation (Radiologic Technologists 89).
X-rays are able to pass through skin and muscle and other soft body tissue, while bones and denser objects show up as white images on the photographic emulsion when film is exposed to X-rays (Radiologic Technologists 89). A picture of the inside of the body can then be developed (Radiologic Technologists 89).
Now that technology has developed and has improved so much people are now able to understand so much more. Doctors now have the technology to use sound waves to look at a developing fetus. During high school one should consider taking biology, anatomy, chemistry, and physics to help with the science portion of this job, and photography classes to help understand how to take better pictures (Radiologic Technologist 92).
After high school clearly one will need higher education.
Education programs in radiology range from one to four years (Radiologic Technologist 92). Depending on the length of the programs depends on what someone will receive, such as a certificate, associate’s degree, or bachelor’s degree (Radiologic Technologist 92).
The most popular among these are the two year programs (Radiologic Technologist 92). The Joint review on Education in Radiologic Technology accredited certificate, associate degree, and bachelor’s degree programs (Radiologic Technologist 92).
Most radiologist programs include anatomy, physiology, patient care, physics, radiation prevention, medical ethics, principles of imaging, medical terminology, radiobiology, and pathology (Radiologic Technologist 92).
There are more perks to being a radiologist than just the pay. Pay isn’t the only factor people choose to do this job. Some people chose to do this job to help people get better or to help patients figure out what is going on with them. Although the pay is a big factor for some people in this field of work ranging from $150,000 to $200,000 for people who have just completed their residencies (Radiologists 805).
Most employers may supply their employees with 401 K plan, retirement plans, vacation and paid time off, and employee discounts on lunch (805). Women may also receive maternity and parenting leave and be able to work on certain things at home. A new employee may also receive job training. Things can always get better in the field, equipment could upgrade, sciences can find something new in medicine.
