For working professionals who want to move into or up within the hot field of medical imaging, there's a new game in town -- Internet-based distance-learning programs. Many colleges offer online programs that allow practicing radiologic technologists (RTs) to complete a bachelor's degree. A unique graduate program helps career changers fast-track into entry-level technologist positions. Another allows students to obtain a PhD.
Distance-learning programs offer convenience and major flexibility -- a key concern for those already working full-time. And no geographic limitations means prospective students can choose from any accredited program that meets their particular interests, no matter where it's located. For example, the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) School of Allied Health Professions enrolls students from Florida to Washington in its completely online RT-to-BSRT degree-completion program.
Chance to Advance
For many practicing RTs, completing a bachelor's degree is essential for career advancement.
“Graduates of our RT-to-BSRT degree-completion program are prepared to move to a higher level in education or administration where they are currently employed,” explains Karen F. Nichols, MSA, RT(R)(M), UNMC's distance-education coordinator.
While students have up to five years to complete their degree, it's possible to finish in as little as one year. More often, students carry four to six credits per semester and finish in two years.
Costs include tuition at $160 per credit hour, textbooks and course materials, as well as registration, application processing and other fees. Employers subsidize or pay most course costs in full, Nichols says.
Other schools offering online bachelor's-degree completion programs in medical imaging include Clarkson College, the Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences, Midwestern State University, Oregon Institute of Technology and the University of Missouri at Columbia.
Expanding Education While Working
While many RT programs appeal to career changers, Boston's MGH Institute of Health Professions (MGHIHP) designed its post-baccalaureate certificate in medical imaging specifically to attract bachelor's-prepared candidates into the profession. The 17-month, 46-credit graduate-level program includes alternating blocks of online courses, followed by blocks of evening labs and then blocks of full-time day clinicals.
“The blocks have been structured to maximize students' ability to continue working on a part-time basis,” says Richard Terrass, MEd, RT(R), clinical assistant professor and director of MGHIHP's medical-imaging graduate program. “Many of our students have been able to maintain full-time employment through at least the first eight months of the program.”
While all of the instruction is online, local students complete the laboratory component off-shift at Massachusetts General Hospital and have clinical rotations in local affiliates. Students who live farther afield travel to Boston twice for a total of seven weeks to complete the necessary laboratory courses. Or if enough students from a hospital or healthcare system in a distant locale are interested, MGH will arrange for a local clinical instructor to teach at that location.
The program costs approximately $34,000, and financial aid is available from a variety of sources. MGHIHP offers merit and diversity scholarships as well as graduate assistantships. Partners Healthcare System, which oversees the affiliation of four major Boston hospitals and helped develop the program, offers medical-imaging scholarships. Many graduate students use their employer's tuition reimbursements or apply for federal financial aid. When budgeting, out-of-town students need to factor in costs for travel, food and lodging during on-site lab courses.
Doctorate from a Distance
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Allied Health Professions in Richmond offers an online four-year PhD program in health-related sciences with a concentration in radiation sciences. This advanced degree prepares radiation professionals to pursue careers in research, administration and education rather than direct patient care.
“It's for people who are interested in helping to advance the profession,” says Jeff Legg, PhD, assistant professor of radiation sciences at VCU.
During the course of study, students spend seven to 14 days on campus twice a year to attend lectures and seminars and interact with faculty and fellow students.
Given the intense reading, writing and analysis required in doctoral-level work, distance-based learning is a natural fit for a PhD program, Legg says.
This article originally appeared on Monster.com.
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