Medical Imaging Program Technical Requirements

Please read through these requirements and take them with you to your physical for the provider to read through.

Students entering and graduating from DACC's Medical Imaging Programs must be able to meet the technical requirement of the academic program. These technical requirements enable all student technologists to carry out essential functions of the profession throughout the program and include, but are not limited to, the following skills and abilities:

1. Motor Abilities
   1. Physical abilities and mobility sufficient to execute gross motor skills, physical endurance, and strength, to provide patient care.
   2. Mobility sufficient to carry out patient care procedures such as assisting with ambulation of patients, administering CPR, assisting with moving and lifting patients, and providing care in confined spaces, such as patient rooms, ER rooms, and operating suits.
   3. Move within confined spaces, sit and maintain balance, reach above shoulders (e.g., move x-ray collimator), and reach below the waist.
   4. Twist, bend, stoop/squat, move quickly (e.g. respond to an emergency), climb (e.g., ladders/stools/stairs), and walt.
   5. Full range of motion of body joints, fine motor movements of the hand, and the ability to stoop, bend, and lift. Push/pull 50 pounds, support/lift 50 pounds, and use upper body strength. Move light and heavy objects.

2. Perceptual/Sensory Ability
   1. Ability to monitor and assess patients
   2. The ability to observe a client/patient accurately at a distance or close at hand, requiring the functional use of the sense of vision and hearing.
   3. The ability to closely examine colored and non-colored images or other forms of output created by diagnostic measure and/or equipment.
   4. Sufficient motor function to elicit information from clients by palpation, auscultation, percussion, and other assessment maneuvers.
   5. Olfactory ability to detect smoke or noxious odors.

3. Behavioral/Interpersonal/Emotional
   1. Ability to relate to colleagues, staff, and patients with honesty, civility, integrity and nondiscrimination.
   2. Capacity for development of mature, sensitive, and effective therapeutic relationships.
   3. Interpersonal abilities sufficient for interaction with individuals, families, and groups from various social, emotional, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds.
   4. Ability to work constructively in stressful and changing environments.
   5. Modify behavior in response to constructive criticism.
   6. Capacity to demonstrate ethical behavior, including adherence to the professional Radiologic technology Code of Ethics as identified by the ARRT (American Registry for Radiologic Technologists).
      • Establishes rapport with patients and colleagues.
      • Works with teams and workgroups.
      • Demonstrates emotional skills sufficient to remain calm in an emergency situation.
      • Demonstrates behavioral skills sufficient to the exercise of good judgment and prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and cate of patients.
      • Adapts rapidly to environmental changes and multiple task demands.
      • Maintains behavioral decorum in stressful situations.
      • Establishes therapeutic boundaries, provides the patient with emotional support, adapts to changing environment/stress, deals with the unexpected, focuses attention on the task, controls own emotions, performs multiple responsibilities concurrently, and responds appropriately.
      • Represents the radiologic technology profession in manner, dress, and behavior.

4. Safe environment for patients, families, and co-workers
   1. Ability to accurately identify patients.
   2. Ability to effectively communicate with patients, other caregivers, peers, and technologists.
   3. Ability to administer radiation by the guidelines set and follow rules for direct and indirect supervision.
   4. Ability to operate equipment safely in the clinical area.
   5. Ability to recognize and minimize hazards that could increase healthcare-associated infections.
   6. Ability to recognize and minimize accident hazards in the clinical setting including hazards that contribute to the patient, family and co-worker falls.
      • Prioritizes tasks to ensure patient safety and standard of care.
      • maintains adequate concentration and attention in all patient care settings.
      • Seeks assistance when a clinical situation requires a higher level of expertise/experience.
      • Negotiates interpersonal conflict, respects differences in patients, and establishes rapport with co-workers.

5. Communication
   1. Ability to communicate in English with accuracy, clarity, and efficiency with patients, their families, and other members of the health care team (including spoken and non-verbal communication, such as interpretation of facial expressions, affect, and body language).
   2. Required communication abilities, including speech, hearing, reading writing, language skills, and computer literacy.
   3. Communicate professionally and civilly to the healthcare team including peers, instructors, and preceptors.
   4. Gives verbal directions to or follows verbal directions from other members of the healthcare team and participates in healthcare team discussions of patient care.
   5. Elicits and records information about health history, current health state, and responses to treatment form patients or family members.
   6. Conveys information to patients and others necessary to teach, direct and counsel individuals in an accurate, effective and timely manner.
   7. Establishes and maintains effective working relations with patients and co-workers.
   8. Explains procedures, and is able to obtain an accurate history from patients, interacts with others (e.g., health care workers), speaks on the telephone, influences people, and directs activities of others.
   9. Conveys information through writing (documenting histories).

6. Cognitive & Conceptual Abilities
   1. Ability to read and understand written documents in English.
   2. Demonstrate problem-solving & critical thinking capabilities.
   3. Ability to react effectively in an emergency situation.

7. Those who do not meet the technical requirements of the program will be assessed individually by a team from the College which shall include but not limited to representatives from Student Services and administration. The situation will be evaluated according to the following process:
   1. The evaluation team will determine if there is a reasonable basis to believe that the individual's continuation in the Program will pose a substantial risk of harm to him/herself or to others (i.e. health care client, hospital staff members, other students, or faculty.) This will be assessed through the perusal of all relevant information including medical history and work history in terms of Program requirements. This information shall be provided in full by the applicant and will be evaluated as related to the probability and severity of harm. The team must then determine if reasonable accommodations can be made by the College that will allow the applicant to gain admission and meet the technical requirements.
   2. Each applicant will be evaluated individually, based on the documents submitted.
   3. Each student who is evaluated shall be notified as to whether they will be granted continuation in the program on the basis of the availability of reasonable accommodation.

Anyone who id denied continuation in the program may begin the appeal process. Please notify the Dean of Math, Science, & Health Professions.