My dilemma

[jasonthehealer]

Hello everyone,

I am seeking advice in my current situation and I have a few questions for you all. I am a 25 year old male, who is halfway through my degree in BA with focus on Marketing. I have worked for Travelers Ins. for over 7 years (since I was 17) and shortly I will be laid off . To be terse, I have realized that I really do not want to continue studying Marketing. I was hoping to obtain a MA in Radiology and become a Radiologist Assistant. But, I have three questions before I change my major:

1. Is the market over saturated with people who are studying to become a radiological technologist ? I.E. is the demand enough to maintain employment of graduates?

2. I know to become a Radiologist Assistant, you must have enough experience as a tech, is the pursuit of higher education worth it?

3. Is there any other medical assistant jobs worth looking into? My uncle is an Anesthesiologist. He told me they need assistants as well. Is that a worthy pursuit?




Thank you all in advance. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Jason

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[konRAD 1]

This forum is for medical students who are looking to become radiologists (M.D.s) and most posters and visitors to this forum will have no idea what you're talking about, including me. If you are looking to become a physician assistant in radiology (an RA as you call it) than most people here will not like that either, because then you will be a "physician extender" who will eventually replace MDs.

As far as anesthesia goes, to become a CRNA you have to go to nursing school and get your RN and BSN, and then you need to work 2 years in the ICU as an RN, and then go back to school for CRNA for 2 more years.

 

[davidjones]

easy killer, I think this is the perfect forum to ask this sort of thing.

I am not super familiar with radiologic physicians assistants but here is what I do know:

1) the training pathway involves you first becoming a radiology technologist, which I think is an associates degree. you then go on to a more advanced program of training, (i'm not sure what it involves)

2)there aren't very many of these training positions and they fairly highly coveted, given your background I can assume you're a hard worker so hopefully this fact won't deter you.

3)RPA if utilized correctly are actually quite useful in radiology practices, particulalrly in interventional radiology, where they not only have an understanding of things radiological, but also possess a clinical knowledge base

I have worked with a couple (though did not ask their training pathway) and have recommended some RT students look into it as they were very good (better than the actual RTs)

Your best bet for information is a senior RT in a radiology department, or the internet, sorry I couldn't be of more help

Also to the haters, an RPA and a CRNA or independent NP/PA are two completely different things

 

[davidjones]

also my recommendation is to finish your degree, though not necessarily your major. A college degree goes a long way. particularly if somewhere along your training into medical assisting you decide you'd rather be a doctor.

 

[colbgw02]

There's a lot of information on the ACR website about RAs. Their role is not analogous to that of a physician assistant or nurse practitioner, so radiologists have no reason to fear their proliferation. That lack of medical training turns out to be a bit of a double-edged sword, however. For example, RAs may have the training to assist an interventionalist in the fluoro suite, but they can't round on patients or prescribe medications. Suffice it to say, their eventual role in radiology has yet to be determined.

 

[jasonthehealer]

easy killer, I think this is the perfect forum to ask this sort of thing.

I am not super familiar with radiologic physicians assistants but here is what I do know:

1) the training pathway involves you first becoming a radiology technologist, which I think is an associates degree. you then go on to a more advanced program of training, (i'm not sure what it involves)

2)there aren't very many of these training positions and they fairly highly coveted, given your background I can assume you're a hard worker so hopefully this fact won't deter you.

3)RPA if utilized correctly are actually quite useful in radiology practices, particulalrly in interventional radiology, where they not only have an understanding of things radiological, but also possess a clinical knowledge base

I have worked with a couple (though did not ask their training pathway) and have recommended some RT students look into it as they were very good (better than the actual RTs)

Your best bet for information is a senior RT in a radiology department, or the internet, sorry I couldn't be of more help

Also to the haters, an RPA and a CRNA or independent NP/PA are two completely different things

Thanks David,

I really appreciate the information. After this semester, I will transfer to another University the offers a radiology technologist program. Another University offers the MA for the RA, after 3 years experience as a tech. http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x3567.xml So, I guess that will be my plan. Thanks again!