I have been a radiologic technologist for over fifteen years.
Many times during an exam the patient would share with me that at some point in their life they wanted to do what I do.
At some point they would ask me “How do you become a rad tech?”
To become a rad tech, you have to complete two years of training at an accredited school. To become a licensed rad tech, you have to pass a national board exam from the ARRT.
The Rad Tech Path I Took
I went to PIMA Medical Institute in Arizona. They have several locations around the country.
Their requirements, like most schools, are that you need to be a high school graduate or have your GED.
There are also entrance exams and an interview process.
Public versus Private Schools
There are two kinds of rad tech schools.
Public schools offer rad tech programs at a much lower cost than their private counterpart.
The downside is that there is usually a waiting list to get into the public schools.
Sometimes it can take up to three years before you can start from the time you get accepted.
Private schools usually have a shorter waiting list but can cost ten times more than their public counterpart.
Rad Tech School Pre-Requisite Classes
Most rad tech schools require prerequisites to be accepted into their programs.
A prerequisite is something that must be completed prior to applying. Subjects like basic English, math, and sciences are common prerequisites.
Some schools add these classes into their curriculum during the rad tech program.
The best way to know what is required for prereqs is to ask the school you are interested in attending.
The cost of attending rad tech school can range anywhere between $6000 and $50,000.
Call the school you are interested in for exact pricing.
Classes and Clinical Rotations
Rad tech schools have two main parts during the program.
One part is sitting in classrooms and listening to teachers.
The teachers share lessons on anatomy, medical ethics, positioning, and everything relevant to the job.
The second part of rad tech school is the clinical internships.
An internship is where you spend time in a clinical setting like a hospital or outpatient center.
You learn from other licensed technologists how to perform images. The teaching techs are called clinical instructors.
You will feel like this is a job but you will not get paid. It is an expected part of being a student in a rad tech program.
Classes versus Clinicals
Each school determines how to break up the classes and clinical internship.
Most teach classes throughout the two-year program.
The internship doesn’t start right away because you need time to learn some basic things before you enter the workplace.
When I went to school, classes started right away and internships started after six months of classes.
This gives enough time for the student to learn safe practices for both themselves and the patient.
Getting Licensed
At the end of all your schooling, you will be required to pass all of the final exams in every class.
You have graduated once all those tests are successfully passed.
Then the fun begins.
This is when you schedule your national board exams through the ARRT. The Association of Radiologic Technologist gives one test for radiography.
It takes many hours and is extremely difficult. But over 337,000 licensed radiographers have passed it since this writing.
So you can too.