Become An X-ray Technician

If you want to work as a x-ray technician, you may have wondered how much education you need to get started. While training for this profession, you might work in hospitals, colleges and universities, and employers prefer to hire technologists with formal training in the field. You can begin to train for this field immediately upon graduation from high school, begin to work, and then continue your education and advance your career while working.

Hospital x-ray technologists usually have a high school background heavy in math and the sciences such as physics, chemistry, and biology. This high school diploma, or an equivalent, is necessary before you continue with any education or certification. If you plan to attend college, you can begin with a two-year associate degree in a health care field, such as a medical assistant associate degree program with an x-ray curriculum. Graduates of these programs also qualify to take the medical assistant exams given by the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants.

You also can study to obtain a degree in radiologic technology, which can expand your choices of using more diagnostic equipment such as CT or MRI machines. The ability to use this more advanced equipment allows you to advance into diagnostic fields such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The programs provide both classroom and clinical instruction in anatomy and physiology, patient care procedures, radiation physics, radiation protection, principles of imaging, medical terminology, positioning of patients, medical ethics, radiobiology and pathology.

No matter where you work upon receiving your degree, most states require x-ray technicians to be licensed. One way to prepare for a higher education in x-ray technology is to read about what the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology expects from future diagnostic technicians. The Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology accredits most formal training programs for the radiography field.

If you want to advance to radiography, formal training programs in radiography range from one to four years and provide a foundation that prepares you for certification. This means that an associate degree is very appropriate, but you may want to go for a bachelor’s or master’s degree if you intend to work as a supervisor, administrator or as a teacher.

Some one-year certification programs for radiography are available for experienced individuals who arrive to this profession through other health care occupations such as medical technologists or registered nurses. Preparation for this profession is offered in hospitals, colleges and universities, and sometimes through vocational-technical institutes.

Federal legislation protects workers and the public from the hazards of unnecessary exposure to medical and dental radiation by ensuring that x-ray equipment operators are properly trained. Under this legislation, the Federal Government sets voluntary standards that states may use for accrediting training programs and licensing individuals who engage in medical or dental radiography.

With experience and additional training, staff technologists may become specialists, performing CT scanning, MR and angiography, a procedure during which blood vessels are x-rayed to find clots. Technologists also may advance, with additional education and certification, to become a radiologist assistant.

Top Online X-Ray Technician Degree Programs

	DeVry University — DeVry offers a bachelor's degree in health services management that prepares students to enter clinical radiology or X-ray programs upon graduation. DeVry has a reputation of working with the top healthcare industry leaders to build curricula that is geared toward students' success in the real world.
	Keiser University — Keiser University's online AS degree in Medical Assisting prepares students with the x-ray training prerequisites needed to perform medical assisting duties under direction of a physician/practitioner. Medical assistants also learn to function in an administrative capacity, providing the skills you need to advance in your career as an x-ray technician.
	Kaplan University — The AAS in medical assisting program provided by Kaplan University provides an entry-level education that concentrates on helping students acquire knowledge and develop skills in performing laboratory, clinical, and medical office procedures. In addition to the online A.S. or B.S. program in Health Information Technology, you complete an unpaid clinical instruction experience and an unpaid externship in an ambulatory setting to complete your course of study as an x-ray technician.
	Ashford University — The BA in healthcare administration offered by Ashford is likely more schooling than a typical X-ray technician will need to begin a career. This program is better suited for the x-ray tech who wishes for more job responsibility and higher pay as a manager or administrator of hospital or clinical technicians.
	American InterContinental University — AIU's AABA in healthcare administration provides a route for individuals looking to become X-ray technicians by completing coursework on business and ethical issues involved in such careers.
	Rasmussen College — Gain in-demand medical coding skills with an affordable and flexible AAS degree in Health Information Technology from Rasmussen College. Students learn medical front office procedures such as handling patient accounts and records, word processing, and scheduling of patients as well as other technical skills.
	Independence University — Independence University's Associate of Science in Allied Health online degree program can help you complete qualifications to grow professionally in the health and human services field. Earning your associate's degree online enables you to progress at your own pace toward your professional goals, allowing you to enter an x-ray tech clinical program within one year.
	Virginia College Online — Virginia College offers a BS in health services management degree program that trains students in management of healthcare services from hospitals to clinics to doctors' offices, and more. Graduates of this program will be well suited to enter managerial careers within the healthcare industry.
	South University — This Associate of Science in Allied Health Science degree program online exposes you to a broad education in general studies combined with an emphasis on life sciences. This program offers a fast and flexible solution for students who want to get their x-ray technician prerequisites, or to continue to earn an MBA in Healthcare Administration.
	Baker College — Baker's bachelor's degree program in health services administration is well suited for those looking for a more managerial role in their healthcare career. This program goes above and beyond the training required of a typical x-ray technician.
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