Each year, The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) funds scholarships to help people further their educations in medical imaging, interventional procedures, and radiation therapy. In the past two years alone, students and R.T.s have received more than $70,000 from ARRT.
Jackie Sondrol, R.T. (R)(CT)(MR)(ARRT), an MRI technologist in Minnesota, recently received a professional development grant from ARRT in partnership with the Society for MR Radiographers & Technologists (SMRT). The scholarship provides up to $500 as reimbursement for educational activities, conferences, or products.
“One of my main career goals is to offer bereaved parents the option of postmortem imaging after a stillbirth,” she says. Noting that most parents decline an autopsy when a baby dies before birth, Sondrol explains that imaging can help uncover the cause of death without being an invasive procedure.
“My continued professional development is one key to bringing this emerging service to my community,” Sondrol says. “I want to use my skills as a magnetic imaging technologist in another area about which I feel passionate.” She put her scholarship toward the cost of attending the Stillbirth Summit, an international conference about poor pregnancy outcomes.
ARRT has a similar partnership with the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) Foundation and other professional societies. We fund educational and professional development grants for radiologic technologists, radiation therapists, and sonographers, awarding at least one $500 scholarship to each ASRT affiliate.
Applicants answer the question: How does acquiring and maintaining certification improve patient care? “What we learned years ago may no longer be relevant,” says winner Renee Nicholson. “Outdated techniques could cause unnecessary exposure to the patient.” By completing continuing education to maintain her certification, winner Elizabeth A. Gresey says, “I learned about topics including total knee replacement imaging, diagnosis and treatment of vertebral column fractures, and emergency chest imaging. Continuing education helps me deliver the best care I can.”
ASRT Foundation winners for 2017 are: Jeffrey Adkins, Ame Allen, Sharee Alpeche, Vicki Bennett, Christopher Blissenbach, Jennifer Bond, Joseph Carter, Thuan Chau, Amber Clayton, Catherine Cooper, Julie Rhiannon Davie, Colleen Dempsey, Christopher Downing, Cheryl DuBose, Andrea Duda, Wendy Elvendahl, Demarcus J. Ferguson, Gina Lucia Foote, Jennifer Franco, Carlos Galindo, Kathleen Glassow, Eric S. Godinez, Elizabeth A. Gresey, Tina R. Hayes, Diana Iglewski, Tracy Iversen, Treavor Kattick, Sara Long, Andee Lortie, Ian Lysinger, Stephanie L. McKim, Kathleen Morency, Donna Murphy, Renee Nicholson, Julie Ostrowski, Jane A. Patton, Jane Schraut, Kristin Seitz, Hannah Shipler, Callie Sinanan, Kimberly Sison, Daniel Spines, Mirabel Azangeh Tandafor, Mackenzie Tanner, Marcia Thornton, Andrea Tschirner, Rebecca Van Ornum, Susan Wertz, Vicki M. White, Peter Yee, and Erin Zubia.
We announced the names of other recent winners in our 2017 issue of Stories of Quality Patient Care (Page 16).