5 Reasons to Become a Diagnostic Radiology Technologist

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Hi, my name is Anouk and I live in Quebec. I'm starting my second year in Diagnostic Imaging program at  Ahuntsic College. This program takes three years to complete  and include a complete year of internship in a hospital. After that, I'll get a diploma that confirms that I have the required skills  to become a diagnostic radiology technologist. I'm sure that you are wondering what is a diagnostic radiology technologist ? Well, basically, it's the person who' s manipulating X-rays, takes care of the patient and analysis the images to make sure that they are great enough so the radiologist can place a diagnostic. Now, I'll give you five reasons for YOU to become an imaging technician.

1.  You can decide where you want to work

Something nice with becoming a technologist in Diagnostic Imaging  is that you can choose the environment where you want to work. If you want a routine and having a regular schedule, you can work in a clinic. On the opposite, if you prefer to work at different times of the day, you like unexpected events and action, your place is definitely in a hospital.  There's also jobs in selling X-ray machines or make the maintenance of those machines. You can even work as a teacher or lab technician at  Ahuntsic College. Something nice with working at the school is that you can convey your knowledge to the students and have fun with them while they are learning new stuff about your passion.

2.  You can help people

The Diagnostic Imaging technician is an important part of the process to find out the diseases or the problems of a patient. Thanks to radiographies, the radiologist is able to make a diagnostic and treat them. Our job is to prepare the exam room before the patient's arrival like : preparing the constrast medium and the needle if we need to do an injection. The preparation varies with the type of exam that you are working in. Also, our job is to take care and reassures the patient during all the exam. Without us, the radiologist wouldn't be able to find out the problem of the patient.

3. You can choose your specialty

Something really cool with this job is that you can choose a specialty. In fact, the world of medical imaging is a big world. This job offers yous several opportunities. You can specialize in scan, ultrasonography, mammography or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). For most of those specialties, you would need to do an AEC of approximately 1 year at Ahuntsic College. With this second diploma, you will be able to do all the exams in this field and be good at it.

If you have a real motivation and your really love this field, you can go to the university to become a doctor in radiology witch is a radiologist. This job is one of the most highest-paid in the hospital. But, you need to be really passionate by the world of medical imaging because  this job requires a lot of  study and skills.

4. You learn a lot about human body

If human body is one of your principal interests and you love to learn new things about your anatomy, this job is made  for you ! Indeed, during your years in the college, you will learn a lot about bones, organs and their localisation and how your body works in a general. You will also learn new things about pharmaceuticals, how to make an injection and how to move a patient.  So, if you have many skills and interest in biology : Go for it !

5. You make money

Well, we all know that money is important  in this world. As you already know, the program in college is only three years. This means that as soon as you get your diploma, you can work at the hospital or clinic and you are already earning a good wage. Also, working conditions are normally very good, especially in the hospital.


In the end, you should definitely choose this program because of the many employment opportunities in various places, you are having a great human contact by helping others, you can choose a special field, you learn a lot about biology and you earn a great wage from the beginning. What are you waiting to apply ?