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Program Information

The A.A.S. Radiography Program is a five-semester, full-time program beginning in the fall semester of each year. Classes and labs are held at the downtown campus and the clinical education component of the program is conducted in various hospitals and other medical facilities in Wilmington and the surrounding area. Program graduates are eligible to apply to take the national examination administered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists for certification and registration as medical radiographers.

Employment

Program graduates generally work in radiology departments in hospitals, clinics, and physicians’ offices. The hospital offers a wide variety of subspecialties including orthopedics, mammography, operating room, and trauma areas. The average starting hourly wage will range from $18.00 – $24.00 per hour.

Technical Standards

Criterion Standard Examples of Necessary Activities
Motor Function Good manual dexterity, motor skills and eye-hand coordination are necessary.
  • Reach, manipulate, and operate radiographic and fluoroscopic equipment, which is above shoulder level (about six feet off the floor).
  • Lift and carry at least thirty (30) pounds of weight in order to safely transport and use ancillary aids (cassettes, sandbags, portable equipment, etc.) when performing radiologic procedures.
  • Safely move standard wheelchairs and stretchers with patients from the emergency or waiting areas to radiologic examining rooms and safely assist mobile patients from the stretcher or wheelchair to the examining table and back without assistance.
  • Safely move immobile patients from stretcher to examining table and back with assistance from departmental personnel.
  • Lift, manipulate, and move patients as necessary for the performance of radiologic procedures.
Observation The ability to observe the patient and any environmental activity is necessary.
  • Correctly read technique charts, read and select correct exposure factors at control consoles, and read and set correct distances and other equipment settings at the radiographic and fluoroscopic towers.
  • Monitor equipment and background sounds during equipment operation and report unusual or abnormal sounds to the appropriate person.
  • Visually monitor the patient for retention of correct position, correct breathing, motion or evidence of physical or emotional distress during the performance of radiologic procedures, including in dimly lit environments.
  • Monitor and evaluate the vital signs of a patient including the taking of temperatures and reading standard thermometers, taking blood pressure, monitoring respiration, and pulse rate.
Communication The ability to speak, hear and observe patients is necessary.
  • Communicate clearly, both orally and in writing, with the patient, patient’s family, clinical personnel, and others in order to obtain or disseminate information relevant to patient care and work duties.
  • Read and correctly carry out written instructions given on requisitions, treatment charts, notes and other records.
  • Understand and correctly carry out oral instructions given by instructors and clinical personnel in the special procedures suite or operating room setting where all personnel is wearing surgical masks.
Visual Activity The ability to see fine detail is necessary.
  • Evaluate radiographs for technical quality including the visual perception of density levels, contrast levels, evidence of distortion, and evaluation of minute structural details for evidence of blur.
Mental Stability The ability to handle stressful situations is necessary.
  • Demonstrate emotional stability and mental alertness in day-to-day interactions with patients, visitors, staff and peers in high stress/pressure situations in the radiologic environment.

Health Sciences Division Student Appeal Procedures

Preclinical, Clinical, Fieldwork or Laboratory Appeal A student who is dismissed from the program due to unsatisfactory or unsafe Preclinical, Clinical, Fieldwork or Laboratory performance during the course of the semester, or who receives an end of semester unsatisfactory clinical evaluation, may appeal to the Radiography Program course instructor.

Procedure for Preclinical, Clinical, Fieldwork or Laboratory Appeals
  • The student will request the Preclinical, Clinical, Fieldwork, and Laboratory Appeal form from the respective course instructor and Program Director via email and submit the appeal form within two college working days of the dismissal. Nurse Aide students must request and submit the appeal form by the end of the business day.
  • Once the email request for an appeal has been received, the Program Director will send the appeal form to the student via Docusign.
  • The student must complete the Appeal form via DocuSign within two college working days of the dismissal.
  • Upon receipt of the completed appeal form, the Program Director will send an electronic acknowledgment of the appeal to the student. An appeal hearing will be arranged with the student, the respective course instructor(s), and the Program Director. The date, time, and location of the scheduled appeal hearing will be emailed to the student within two college working days from receipt of the student’s appeal form. The hearing will be held on campus.

The student will not be allowed to make any changes or additions to the original documentation throughout the appeal process. The appeal hearing will proceed even if the student is not present for the scheduled hearing.

It is the student’s responsibility to check his/her CFCC email for communication regarding the appeal. There will be more than one correspondence that will be sent via email that will require the student’s attention and will need to be submitted to the course instructor and program director.

For patient safety, the student may attend didactic classes, but not preclinical, clinical, fieldwork, or laboratory sessions while the student appeal is being reviewed via the appeals process.

Following the appeal hearing, the Program Director will make a decision regarding the appeal. The Program Director will email the student within two business days of the scheduled hearing with the final appeal decision. The decision of the Program Director is final.

Grievance Procedure & Grade Appeal – For any grievance or grade appeal, other than those related to Preclinical, Clinical, Fieldwork or Laboratory matters, the student should follow the Right of Appeal or Grade Appeal process as outlined in the CFCC COLLEGE AND STUDENT HANDBOOK.

If unsatisfied with the result from the CFCC Due Process Procedure, any student wishing to file a grievance with the JRCERT has that ability if the grievance pertains to one of the Standards. The JRCERT Grievance Procedure steps are:

1. See Student Resources/Allegations on the JRCERT website www.jrcert.org

2. All inquiries can be forwarded to:

JRCERT
20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 2850
Chicago, IL 60606-3182
Phone: 312-704-5300 , Fax: 312-704-5304
Email: mail@jrcert.org

3. No student will be subject to unfair actions as a result of initiating a complaint proceeding.

GRADING SYSTEM

A grade of “C” or better is required in all Radiography Core courses for the student to continue in the program. All RAD courses are co-requisites to each other, so if a student fails the clinical practicum before the end of the semester, they must withdraw from all other RAD classes in which they are currently enrolled.

A course may be repeated only once and all Radiography courses must be taken in sequence. A passing grade is required in all the General Education courses A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 is required for each semester.

CLASSROOM GRADING SYSTEM
CLINICAL GRADING SYSTEM
100 – 92% = A 100 – 92% = A Above average
91 – 84% = B 91 – 84% = B Average
83 – 76% = C 83 – 76% = C Below average
75 – 68% = D Below 76% = Failure
67 – 0% = F
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