To those outside of the medical field, it might seem a bit odd just how many roles there are to fill in most hospitals. Many of us don’t even realize that an x-ray technician is a position that people can hold. However, it certainly is, and there are even programs that teach how to do it.
If that’s something that you’re interested in, you might be stuck on how to find a program like that. It can feel like a daunting task to say the least, especially considering that there’s a general impression that these sorts of things require a college education. However, this isn’t actually the case.
How to Qualify
The first thing that you’ll need to know about x ray technician school is that you must have a high school diploma or GED equivalent to qualify for it. Beyond that, though, you will also need to have either some relevant experience in the medical field or what’s known as a Medical Assisting certificate. Not the same as a college degree, though, which makes it more accessible for a wide variety of folks out there.
Most of the schools that offer these sorts of programs will also have some sort of entrance exam as well. However, those are the only major requirements of note to consider when you are thinking about applying for the school of your choice.
Course Load
Something else that you’ll want to make note of as you think about your applications and the like is how much of a course load that you can take on right now. How busy is your schedule? Can you feasibly attend an all in-person class right now, or would something hybrid work out better for you? All of these factors should certainly play a part in your decision.
Generally speaking, there will be some basic expectations in these programs for graduation across the board, no matter what school you attend. You can almost always expect a midterm and a final exam of some variety. Some of that is explained here: https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/abs/10.1148/42.4.384.
Additionally, expect some sort of clinical trial or test where you have to demonstrate your abilities in a real-time setting. Although there are plenty of programs that do offer asynchronous (online) courses, they still tend to have synchronous exams – just something to think about if you’re not certain what direction you want to go in.
How to Pick Your School
This is a bit of a difficult topic to discuss since it’s something so personal to each individual who is seeking education or training of this nature. For a lot of us though, we will probably be weighing the costs of our various options pretty highly above other factors. Financial aid can be critical in that sense, so if you are able to find a program that has options for applying for that, it’s a pretty nice bonus.
Because of how challenging it can be, you can check out a resource such as this one to get an idea of how to search for these programs in the first place. Really, and of the pages above might help to give you some inspirations, so don’t hesitate to check them out if you haven’t yet. There’s just a lot to take into account when you’re looking to get into an x-ray technician program.
Depending on where you look, there may be some special steps in the application process. Most of the time, though, as a prospective student you can contact the college or university’s enrollment team to submit an inquiry about your interest. Although we’ve come to expect online application forms, there are still a lot of colleges that prefer a more personal touch to the admissions process.
It also doesn’t hurt to tour a few different locations and see where you’d be staying. That’s a huge part of our university experience, even if the actual coursework should naturally take priority over anything else. You’ll still be spending a sizable amount of time in these living quarters in that town or city, so exploring a bit can help you get a sense of whether or not it’s really going to suit your lifestyle.
