Training Activities

Clinical Training

The application of knowledge and skill gained from classroom presentations, and observations during VI procedures constitute clinical training. The clinical area that students will be introduced to consists of the Interventional Radiology department at UF Health Jacksonville Medical Center.

The purpose of clinical training is to provide the student with the necessary practical skills that will ensure the student masters competency in those procedures required by the ARRT. The ARRT periodically performs audits on procedures performed by students and technologists. Each student is required to update and maintain a list of procedural competencies as defined by the ARRT. Procedural competency is continually evaluated by the instructors and qualified technical staff.

The Clinical Experience Requirements for Vascular-Interventional Radiography consist of 61 procedures in seven different categories. The seven categories include:

• Neurological
• Thoracic
• Abdominal and Pelvic
• Genitourinary and Gastrointestinal, non-vascular
• Peripheral
• Venous Access
• Miscellaneous

Candidates must document complete diagnostic quality procedures according to the following rules:

• Each candidate must complete a total of 200 repetitions from the list of procedures provided.
• The candidate does not need to select procedures from all seven categories.
• Each selected procedure must be performed a minimum of 5 times (repetitions) in order for the candidate to receive credit for that procedure.
• Each procedure may be counted a maximum of 20 times.
• For any given patient per day, you may count only one diagnostic procedure, but may count multiple interventional procedures.

Examples

The following hypothetical candidates illustrate three ways of satisfying the clinical experience requirements. Numerous other combinations are possible.

• Candidate A: This person identified 10 different procedures from the list on the following page and performed each of those procedures 20 times (10 x 20 = 200).
• Candidate B: This person identified 25 different procedures from the list on the following page. This applicant performed 15 of those procedures 10 times (15 x 10 = 150), and the other 10 procedures 5 times (10 x 5 = 50).
• Candidate C: This person identified 40 different procedures from the list on the following page and performed each of those procedures 5 times (40 x 5 = 200).

To qualify as a complete imaging procedure, the candidate must demonstrate active participation in a primary role with appropriate:

• Preparation of supplies and maintenance of equipment
• Evaluation of order and patient identification, patient preparation, and administration of medications as required
• Patient monitoring during procedure
• Post-procedural patient care
• Image processing, including evaluation of images to ensure they demonstrate correct anatomy, radiographic techniques and identification/labeling

Clinical supervision is provided by the supervisor, qualified technologists, clinical instructors, and program faculty. The program faculty provides individualized instruction and evaluation, as necessary. The faculty maintains an open door policy with regard to student concerns and issues.

Students are expected to initiate and investigate new and more advanced learning opportunities as those opportunities present themselves. Common, yet unplanned, opportunities for learning such as; cardiac arrests, major trauma, rare conditions and diseases, cannot by their nature be a planned part of clinical education. Therefore, the student should take the initiative to become engaged in those activities as they present themselves.

Overview of Classroom Training

Beginning January 1, 2016, candidates for post-primary certification are required to document completion of structured education related to the content specifications.

Educational activities must meet the following requirements:

• The educational activities must be distributed among the current ARRT Content Specifications for this discipline.
• The total number of hours must equal at least 16; and at least one hour of structured education must be related to each of the major content areas:
  • Patient Care
  • Image Production
  • Procedures

The classroom/didactic activities include; lectures, discussions, web-based activities, reviews and examinations. The classroom portion of the curriculum is designed to ensure that all learning objectives identified the most recent version of the ASRT curriculum recommendations and the ARRT exam content outline. Regular attendance and active classroom participation are critical elements for ensuring students successful complete the program within the scheduled time frame. Lectures are conducted in classrooms located on the second floor of the clinical center within the department of radiology.

The students will have access to the department of radiology research library and the University of Florida - Borland Library, both located on-campus.