This 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 and radiological laboratories. Medical radiation technologists who are supervisors or instructors are included in this unit group.
Radiological technologists perform some or all of the following duties:
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 for the patient during the radiographic examination
Apply radiation protection measures
May train and supervise student radiographers or supervise other radiological technologists.
Radiological technologists may specialized in areas such as computerized tomography, angiography, mammography, magnetic resonance imaging, interventional radiology, dosimetry, stereotaxy or brachytherapy.
Nuclear medicine technologists perform some or all of the following duties:
Prepare radiopharmaceuticals, such as radionuclides and other materials and administer them to patients or to biological samples
Operate radiation detection equipment, such as gamma cameras, scanners, scintillation counters, tomodensitomiters 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 for 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 perform some or all of the following duties:
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
Monitor the patient's physical and psychological well-being during the entire course of treatment
Advise the patient regarding side effects of radiation
May train and supervise student radiotherapy technologists or supervise other radiotherapy technologists.
Employment Requirments:
Completion of a two- to three-year college, hospital school or other approved program in diagnostic radiography (for radiological 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 all provinces.
Certification by the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists is required in all provinces except Quebec.
Experience as a medical radiation technologist is required for supervisors and instructors.
Additional information
There is no mobility between the three types of medical radiation technologists without further training.
Courtesy of: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada