3215- Medical radiation technologists

Canada NOC: 
3215
Job Title: 

Medical radiation technologists

Job Description: 

This unit group includes technologists who operate radiographic and radiation therapy equipment to administer radiation treatment and produce images of body structures for the diagnosis and treatment of injury and disease. They are employed in hospitals, cancer treatment centres, clinics, radiological laboratories, colleges and universities. Medical radiation technologists who are supervisors or instructors are included in this unit group.

Main Duties: 

Medical radiation technologists perform some or all of the following duties:


Radiological technologists
Operate X-ray, radiographic and fluoroscopic equipment, computerized tomography (CT) scanners, mammography units and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners to produce radiographs or anatomic images of the human body for the diagnosis by radiologists of disease or injury
Record and process patient data
Perform basic verification and quality control checks on radiographic and film processing equipment
Provide appropriate care and monitoring of the patient during the radiographic examination
Explain procedures, position patient and equipment and apply radiation protection measures
May train and supervise student radiographers or supervise other radiological technologists.

Radiological technologists may specialize in areas such as computerized tomography, angiography, mammography, magnetic resonance imaging, interventional radiology, dosimetry, stereotaxy or brachytherapy.
Nuclear medicine technologists
Prepare and administer radiopharmaceuticals, such as radionuclides and other tracer materials to patients or to biological samples
Operate radiation detection equipment, such as gamma cameras, scanners, scintillation counters, tomodensitometers and ionization chambers, to acquire data for use by nuclear medicine physicians in the diagnosis of disease
Perform diagnostic procedures using radioactive materials on biological specimens, such as blood, urine and faeces
Record and process results of procedures
Check equipment to ensure proper operation
Provide appropriate care and monitoring of the patient during the examination
Apply radiation protection measures
May train and supervise student nuclear medicine technologists or supervise other nuclear medicine technologists.
Radiation therapists
Operate linear accelerators, cobalt 60, X-ray and other radiation therapy equipment to administer radiation treatment prescribed by radiation oncologists
Check radiation therapy equipment to ensure proper operation
Assist radiation oncologists and clinical physicists with preparation of radiation treatment plan
Assist in the preparation of sealed radioactive materials such as cobalt, radium, cesium and isotopes and the construction of devices such as plaster casts and acrylic moulds to assist with administration of radiation treatment
Provide appropriate care and monitoring of the patient's physical and psychological well-being during the entire course of treatment
Explain procedures and side effects of radiation
May train and supervise student radiotherapy technologists or supervise other radiotherapy technologists.

Employment Requirements: 

Completion of a two- to three-year college, hospital or other approved program in diagnostic radiography or magnetic resonance imaging (for radiological technologists and magnetic resonance technologists), nuclear medicine technology (for nuclear medicine technologists) or radiation therapy (for radiation therapists)
or
A bachelor of health sciences in radiography, nuclear medicine or radiation therapy
and
A period of supervised practical training are required.
Licensure with a regulatory body is required in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Membership with a provincial association is required in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba.
Certification by the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists is required in all provinces except Quebec and British Columbia.

Additional Inormation: 

There is no mobility between the three types of medical radiation technologists without further training.
Experience as a medical radiation technologist is required for supervisors and instructors.

Classified Elsewhere: 

Other medical technologists and technicians (in 321 Medical technologists and technicians (except dental health))

Similar O*NET Careers (USA) : 
International Careers(ISCO): 
Source Of Info: 

National Occupation Classification, (2011)

Statistics Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada,

February 2012,

Catalogue no. 12-583-X