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ARRT Seeks Comments on Proposed Changes to MRI Documents

Published on Aug 14, 2023

The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) is looking for help from working professionals in MRI. We encourage you to review the proposed changes to the MRI Examination Content Specifications and Clinical Requirements.

Our goal is to produce comprehensive, accurate, and fair documents that cover the knowledge and cognitive skills required of MRI technologists. ARRT’s examinations are job-related. That is, we only include topics if knowledge of those topics relates directly to a clinical activity typically required in one’s job. A survey of possible tasks and procedures was sent to 4,000 current MRI technologists to determine these topics. Results from these surveys were used to update the content specifications and clinical requirements.

The ARRT MRI Practice Analysis Committee (composed of subject matter experts from throughout the United States) began working on these documents in October 2022 and will complete work on them this fall. After that, ARRT’s Board of Trustees will review the proposed changes. The new MRI documents have a scheduled implementation date of February 1, 2025.

SUMMARY OF MAJOR PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE EXAMINATION CONTENT SPECIFICATIONS

Patient Care Section

  • Additional content and updated wording were added to several areas. 

Safety Section

  • Wrap around was added to aliasing

Image Production Section

  • Nyquist theorem was added to Data Manipulation

Procedures Section

  • Spleen and soft tissue procedures were added.

The total number of scored questions remains the same at 200, but the number of questions in the Patient Care, Safety, and Image Production sections changed.
 

SUMMARY OF THE MAJOR PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE CLINICAL COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS

  • Vascular neck was changed from a mandatory to an elective procedure.
  • Total spine and soft tissue were added to the elective procedures list.
  • Candidates must demonstrate competence in 16 mandatory procedures and 12 of 33 elective procedures. Up to 5 elective procedures may be performed on volunteers.


SUMMARY OF THE MAJOR PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE CLINICAL EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

  • Total spine and soft tissue were added to the procedures list.
  • The minimum number of repetitions that must be documented remains at 125. A minimum of 21 different procedures must be documented. A minimum of 3 times and a maximum of 6 times can be documented for each procedure.


REVIEW THE DOCUMENTS AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK

We invite you to review the documents below and provide feedback through an online survey (live until September 15, 2023). The survey is the official method by which we track feedback. The MRI Practice Analysis Committee will review all comments and may make additional changes based on your feedback.

Note: Additions are in blue, and deletions are in strikethrough red in the drafts.

QUESTIONS?

If you have questions about how the proposed changes may affect your eligibility for certification and registration in MRI, call 651.687.0048. Select the option for earning an ARRT credential.

Thank you for your contribution to this important project!