[box]Pictured: Ramon Gonzalez, Director of the Radiologist Assistant Program at Quinnipiac University.[/box]
Hamden, Conn. – March 1, 2012 – The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (AART) has granted Quinnipiac University’s radiologist assistant program a five-year extended recognition.
The designation allows graduates of the School of Health Sciences program to be eligible for certification as registered radiologist assistants. The AART recognizes 12 educational programs in the United States.
“We have a very good track record,” said Ramon Gonzalez, director of the radiologist assistant program. “To be reaccredited, you must demonstrate academic and professional success with your graduates.”
From the program’s inception at Quinnipiac in 2008, radiologist assistant graduates have had a 100 percent passage rate on national certification examinations.
There are 10 students currently enrolled in the two-year master’s program.
“We are very satisfied with the quality of our students,” Gonzalez said. “I am honored to work with the diagnostic imaging faculty here at Quinnipiac and to be part of the very young and successful RA program.”
To have recognition extended by ARRT, radiologist assistant programs must meet recognition criteria that include accreditation and clinical education requirements.
Initial recognition may be granted for a period of up to three years, at which time the program must apply again for ongoing recognition.
Radiologist assistants are physician extenders who specialize in the use of a variety of imaging techniques, including X-rays, computed tomography, ultrasound and MRI to perform imaging-guided procedures that diagnose and treat diseases, including cancer.
These professionals perform a variety of interdisciplinary procedures, including patient assessment, insertion of central venous lines, biopsies, drainage of fluid from the chest and abdomen, spinal taps, diagnostic fluoroscopic procedures, 3D virtual imaging studies and joint injections.