There finally is a rare bright spot among all the bleak news about the shortage of radiologic technologists. According to the results of a survey by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, the number of people entering radiologic science programs has increased.
The survey asked directors of every accredited radiologic science program in the US -- 590 radiography programs, 110 nuclear medicine programs and 86 radiation therapy programs -- to report student enrollment figures for their freshman classes. Response rate varied by program type, with 75 percent of radiography program directors responding, 62 percent of nuclear medicine program directors responding and 60 percent of radiation therapy program directors responding. The enrollment figures reported by respondents were extrapolated to estimate the entire population of students entering radiologic science programs in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
"The results give us a good snapshot of the supply side of the supply-demand balance in radiologic technology," says Sal Martino, ASRT executive vice president and chief academic officer.
Class In Session
Survey results showed that enrollments increased for all three types of programs. The freshman class of radiography students was estimated to total 12,529 in 2001, up 12.3 percent from an estimated 11,160 students in 2000 and up from 10,582 students in 1999. The number of students entering US nuclear medicine programs increased 29.1 percent in 2001 to an estimated total of 1,252, up from 970 students in 2000 and from 922 students in 1999. Students entering radiation therapy programs in 2001 were estimated at 860, a 22.3 percent increase from 701 students in 2000 and up from 556 students in 1999.
"This is good news for the profession and for its patients," said ASRT President Allen Terrell, MS, RT (R)(MR). "I hope this growth correlates with recent efforts by the ASRT and the Summit on Radiologic Sciences and Sonography to interest students in careers in radiologic technology and to help schools recruit more people into their programs." The ASRT has conducted an extensive media campaign to inform the public about job opportunities in the field, and the Summit recently produced a videotape about careers in radiologic technology.
Many health professions are experiencing shortages, including nurses and laboratory technologists. However, recent reports indicate that shortages are deepest among pharmacists and radiologic technologists. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the country will need 55,000 more radiographers, 4,000 more nuclear medicine technologists and 4,000 more radiation therapists by 2008. Based on those figures, Terrell warns that the profession is not out of the woods yet. "To avoid a severe personnel crisis, we must continue promoting the field to young people and keep these enrollment figures up," he says.
The ASRT survey also questioned program directors about their plans for future program growth. Only 1.3 percent of respondents said they planned to decrease enrollments, while 64.3 percent planned to stay at about the same level and 34.4 percent said they plan to increase enrollments. "About 50 percent of the programs indicated that they are not at full enrollment, so there is room for continued expansion," says Dr. Martino.
In addition, 93.6 percent of the program directors who responded to the survey said that their programs "will definitely continue to operate" during the next few years, while 5.2 percent reported that there is a possibility of their program closing and 1.3 percent said that they will close or have already closed.
Radiography programs had the highest student attrition rate, according to the survey. Directors reported that during the past few years, 21.7 percent of students enrolled in radiography programs dropped out before graduating. The attrition rate for radiation therapy programs was 18.1 percent and the rate for nuclear medicine programs was 11.8 percent.
"Attrition continues to be a problem," says Dr. Martino, who suggested that programs become more flexible to meet the needs of their students. "Offering night and weekend classes or distance-learning programs may be one way to stem the loss of students," he said.
This article originally appeared on Monster.com.
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