Clinical Education

All students in the Radiologic Technology Program have as part of their curriculum, learning experience in the clinical areas. A clinical learning is obtained at a health agency, giving students the opportunity to apply knowledge that has been acquired in the classroom, in a real-life situation.

Clinical experience will be assigned and all students will know in advance where they will be going and what types of experiences they will be assigned. Due to the number of students in the area, requests for specific health agencies cannot be honored.

Current clinical affiliates include:

  • Genesis Medical Center East
  • Genesis Medical Center Illini Campus
  • Genesis Medical Center Dewitt Campus
  • Mercy One Clinton Medical Center
  • Gen Rad (Former Radiology Group)
  • Genesis Convenient Care Davenport
  • Genesis Convenient Care Bettendorf (Woodlands)
  • Genesis HealthPlex Moline
  • Genesis Bettendorf Imaging Center
  • Genesis Eldridge Family Practice
  • Jackson County Regional Health Center
  • Urology Associates

A clinical instructor/advisor will be assigned to each clinical area with the students. The instructor is responsible for guiding learning experiences of students.

The actual clinical areas and hours at the cooperating health agencies are determined by the administration of the school in consultation with the administration of the health agency. They are 7 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (days) and 1  - 9 p.m. or 3 - 11 p.m. as well as some weekend rotations (Saturday and Sunday).

Students must remember that the institution is cooperating with the college to provide necessary experience for learning. As such, the students must remember they are guests of the cooperating agency and conduct themselves in an appropriate manner.

Students must provide their own transportation to the assigned clinical facility.

Clinical Policies & Standards

In order to participate in the clinical practicum at the affiliated hospitals chosen by the college, it will be necessary to purchase uniforms to wear while at the hospital. The uniforms will be ordered through the college in December. Costs vary from person to person, but you can expect to spend between $200 to $300 on three uniforms and one pair of nursing shoes. Proper grooming (cleanliness, neatness, and hair-styling) is expected of every student in this program. Students represent both the school and the hospital. A name tag and lead markers will be ordered. (A detailed dress code is found in the clinical manual.)

Reporting Illness

The student must report illness, communicable diseases and any condition which might affect the health of the student, patients and hospital staff. This should be reported to a program official or clinical instructor. Failure to report this will result in probation and possible dismissal from the program.

To protect those around you and as a safeguard to patients, all students are required to meet safe health standards. Any student with an elevated temperature (100 degrees F. or more orally), symptoms of urinary infection (dysuria, urgency, or frequency), symptoms of respiratory infection, symptoms of gastrointestinal infection, or symptoms of pink eye must report the condition to a program official or clinical instructor, even though the student may be under the care of a private physician. The program official or clinical instructor is responsible for reporting the condition to the Infection Control Surveyor at the clinical affiliate.

Health Status Report

A "Health Status Report" form must be signed by the student's physician before the student returns to the program. The student is responsible for making up lost clinical time and missed class work during his/her absence.

Infection Control

Students must follow OSHA guidelines regarding universal precautions.

Prior to clinical rotations, the student must complete orientation checklists and inservices. When the student begins a clinical rotation at a new clinical site, the verification checklist for that site must be completed the first two weeks of the rotation.

The student will be unable to proceed with clinical rotations unless all orientation checklists and inservices are completed within the stated time frames.

If all orientation checklists and inservices are incomplete within the state time frames, the student may be placed on probation and ultimately dismissed from the program, depending upon the circumstances for the incompletion.

The Radiologic Technologist must have sufficient strength, motor coordination and manual dexterity to:

  • Transport, move, lift and transfer patients from a wheelchair or cart to an examination table or to a patient bed.
  • Move, adjust and manipulate a variety of equipment, including the ability to arrange and align the equipment with respect to the patient and the image receptor according to established procedure and standards of speed and accuracy.
  • Perform x-rays

The Radiologic Technologist must be capable of:

  • Handling stressful situations related to technical and procedural standards and patient care situations.
  • Providing physical and emotional support to the patient during the radiologic procedures, being able to respond to situations requiring first aid and providing emergency care to the patient in the absence of, or until the physician arrives.
  • Communicating verbally in an effective manner in order to direct patients during radiologic examinations.
  • Reading and interpreting patient charts and requisitions for radiologic examinations.

The Radiologic Technologist must have the mental and intellectual capacity to:

  • Calculate and select proper technical exposure factors according to the individual needs of the patient and the requirements of the procedure's standards of speed and accuracy.
  • Review and evaluate the recorded images for the purpose of identifying proper patient positioning, accurate procedural sequencing, proper exposure, and other appropriate and pertinent technical qualities.