Improving by degrees

Radiologic program first in state to offer bachelor’s

When the School of Health Related Professions launches its Radiologic Science Program in the fall, it will be the first program in the state to offer a bachelor’s degree in the discipline.

The two-year Bachelor of Science course will require students to have taken 57 hours of prerequisites and will combine classroom teaching and lab work in SHRP with clinical instruction in the hospital’s radiology department and clinics.

“I’m excited about being part of the process and about the resources we will gain through SHRP,” said Mark Gray, director of the Radiologic Science Program. “The main attraction to our field is the diversity of opportunities.

“Once a graduate comes out of a radiography program, they can go on to CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine” and more, he said.

Until now, the University of Mississippi Medical Center has offered a program in radiologic technology which awarded students certificates. That program is being phased out and will graduate its last class next year.

The American Society of Radiologic Technologists advocates an associate degree as the entry level for technologists and a bachelor’s degree as the professional level, Gray explained.

“Therefore, students enrolling into the certificate program would have needed an associate’s degree as a prerequisite. So we decided the logical thing to do was to require two years of prerequisite courses and combine these with the two-year professional course of study in the Radiologic Science Program to make the terminal award a B.S. degree,” he said.

Like Gray, program instructor Kristi Moore hopes the Radiologic Science Program in SHRP will give graduates an advantage in the professional world and encourage them to keep learning.

“I was fortunate. When I started school it was all conventional imaging (film),” she said. “Then in my second year, they began implementing computed radiography. Watching the technology change has been exciting.

“Currently, we are still teaching both conventional and digital  radiography to comply with our professional curriculum. We all push our former students to continue their education toward a bachelor’s degree. I’m excited to help provide that opportunity up front.”

Moore, along with Gray, is now working toward her doctorate. “SHRP offers so many opportunities for employees at UMMC,” Moore said.

“And that’s just part of the timbre of the country right now,” said program instructor Mike Ketchum. “Education is so important that you have to move with the times or you get left behind.”

Gray hopes that offering students a B.S. degree will lead to not only more qualified technologists but also to more interest in pursuing research in the radiology profession.

Clinical coordinator Paula Young agreed there’s a need for radiologic research.

“There’s not a lot of research out there because you don’t start thinking about research until you get into higher education,” she said.

Twenty-three students out of approximately 80 applicants have been accepted into the first class, which begins in August. Class size is based on the number of practicing radiologic technologists available to supervise the students in the clinical environment.

“We hope to increase class size in the future,” Gray said.

“The new bachelor’s degree program in radiologic science continues our primary mission at SHRP to provide Mississippi with health-care professionals who meet vital patient-care needs of the state,” said Dr. Ben Mitchell, dean of SHRP.

-Matt Westerfield

2009-03-31 00:00:00 18882