Admissions Requirements

MISERICORDIA UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL IMAGING

POLICY #18

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Purpose:

In compliance with Title III of the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, this document presents a list of essential functions for students in the Medical Imaging major at Misericordia University.

Definition:

Essential functions are defined as those skills, both physical and mental, that all Medical Imaging students must have the capacity to complete with or without reasonable accommodations

Introduction:

The care and safety of the patient is of top priority and the responsibility of the student technologist. The practice of medical imaging involves the ability to lift and move heavy equipment both at the level of the waist and above the head. It requires the physical ability to assist the patient on and off examination tables and to and from stretchers or wheelchairs. The student technologist must be able to see and hear the patient well enough to monitor the patient’s condition. The student technologist must be able to discern sharpness, different shades of gray, black and white on images to assess them for image quality.

Policy:

In order to ensure that students, faculty, colleagues and patients are not placed in jeopardy by students with impaired intellectual, physical or emotional functions a qualified student must be able to organize and accurately perform the individual steps of a radiographic examination in proper sequence, and in a timely manner by demonstrating the following essential functions of the program:

1. Cognitive abilities: Critical thinking ability sufficient for clinical judgment. The ability to analyze/ reason, focus and respond is necessary in order to:

a. assess and accurately understand requisitions, orders, charts, directions and other job related documents and communications.

b. interact with other students, faculty, staff and patients under stressful conditions, including but not limited to medically or emotionally unstable patients, situations regarding rapid adaptations.

c. engage in patient care and management.

2. Communication abilities:

Sufficient verbal and written skills to effectively communicate, in English, with patients, family members, and staff.

The ability to communicate both orally and in writing as it relates to:

a. obtaining and recording patient history.

b. explaining and discussing procedures including consent forms.

c. providing clear and concise verbal commands to patients and effectively communicate with patients, physicians, staff, and family members.

d. interacting with other students, faculty and patients under stressful conditions, including but not limited to, medically or emotionally unstable patients.

3. Physical Abilities:

The ability to physically engage in the following: (This list is not inclusive)

a. Lift more than 50 pounds routinely

b. Push and pull routinely

c. Bend, kneel or squat routinely

d. Withstand lengthy periods of physical activity to include moving quickly, at times continuously and/or remain in stationary positions for long periods of time.

e. Stand with a lead apron during fluoroscopy exams

f. Assist patients on and off examination tables and to and from wheelchairs and stretchers

g. Provide strength to transfer and position patient without placing patient at risk

h. Propel wheelchairs, stretchers, etc., alone or with assistance

i. Perform the provisions of CPR

j. Raise arms above head and extend to sides

4. Visual Acuity:

The ability to see fine lines, and to distinguish both colors and gradual changes in blacks, grays and whites necessary to evaluate radiographic images and sufficiently observe patients.

The ability to visually assess the following:

a. A patient for appropriate patient care and management

b. Radiographic positioning

c. The direction of the central ray to the anatomical part being imaged

d. The alignment of imaging field placement

e. Radiographic images

f. Read department protocols for imaging procedures, examination request, monitors and any written directions or orders

g. Contrast agents identifiable by color in order to retrieve supplies

h. Patient identity by their wristband and/or requisition

5. Auditory Ability:

The ability to hear sounds necessary to:

a. Monitor and assess health needs of patients

b. Respond to patient questions, concerns and needs

c. Hear faint or muffled sounds when the use of surgical masks is required

d. Hear faint or muffled sounds since operator control areas are separated from the x-ray table and patient

e. Monitor equipment operation or dysfunction which may indicated by low sounding buzzers or bells

6. Motor Functions Ability:

Gross/fine motor abilities, hand-eye coordination, manual dexterity, and motor skills to: provide safe and effective patient care and management.

The ability to:

a. Reach, manipulate, and operate mechanisms such as imaging tables, x-ray tubes, collimators, control consoles, mobile x-ray machines, digital imaging, and other equipment related to the profession, both in and out of the imaging department

b. Reach overhead in order to manipulate an x-ray tube that is suspended from the ceiling

c. Handle and use procedural items such as vials, syringes, catheters, contrast media preparation, and dressings, etc.

d. Work in a sterile environment, prepare sterile fields, and fill sterile syringes

e. Physically assess patients

f. Operate both mobile and stationary medical imaging equipment.

If a student cannot demonstrate the skills and abilities listed above, it is the responsibility of the student to request an appropriate accommodation (providing they have documentation of a diagnosed disability) in either the educational or clinical environment with reasonable notice to the University and clinical education site. For more information regarding requesting reasonable accommodations refer to the current Misericordia University Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog https://catalog.misericordia.edu/content.php?catoid=9&navoid=605#student-success-center.

Please note: At the end of this policy is a document entitled “Program Applicant Agreement Statement”. Students are required to read and sign this document electronically each academic year. It will be included as part of the required paperwork provided by the program at the sophomore level.

In the event the student does not have a diagnosed disability, they must meet the Essentials Functions as stated above in order to continue in the program. If a disability is diagnosed, and the documentation provided, it is up to the individual clinical education center to determine the “reasonable accommodations”. However, in the event no clinical site can provide the required accommodations, the student may not be able to complete the program.

Reasonable accommodations cannot be made retroactively. This means if the student fails to request accommodations and does not meet the Essential Functions of the program defined for successful completion of an assignment, examination, practical examination or clinical education experience the student will be subject to the policies and procedures defined in the Medical Imaging Student Handbook and Clinical Education Manual or respective course syllabi regarding these matters.

Proposed: 1/24/00

Revised:  8/04, 12/11, 7/12, 5/15, 3/23, 11/23

Reviewed: 12/17, 12/19, 12/22, 3/23

AMERICAN REGISTRY OF RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGISTS (ARRT) RADIOGRAPHY CERTIFICATION

The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), the national organization that develops, administers and scores the certifying exam in Radiography, has requested that all new students be informed of their position regarding their requirements to sit for the Radiography exam; that if passed, results in certification. Certification is the initial recognition of an individual who satisfies certain standards within a profession. Employers, state licensing agencies, and federal regulators look at the ARRT credential as an indication that a person has met a recognized national standard for medical imaging, interventional procedures, and radiation therapy professionals.

As outlined in ARRT’s Initial Requirements for earning ARRT Credentials candidates for ARRT’s Radiography certification must meet basic education, ethics, and examination requirements to become eligible.Applicants must meet all three areas of the ARRT’s requirements in order to take the exam. In the event a student does not, they may not be able to sit for the exam, even though they may have successfully completed the major academically.

Additional eligibility details and information regarding the ARRT exam may be found at: https://www.arrt.org/pages/earn-arrt-credentials/initial-requirements/primary-requirements

Regarding the ethics requirement, the ARRT states the following position: Eligibility for the examination requires that the candidate be of good moral character. Individuals who apply for a primary pathway to certification and registration must answer three ethics-related questions on the application form. The questions address convictions, court-martials, disciplinary action by regulatory or other certification boards, and educational honor code violations. 

A decision regarding whether or not you will be able to sit for the exam will be determined by the committee at the time your application is submitted, which is approximately 90 days prior to graduation.

Pre-application review procedures allow individuals who are not yet enrolled in an educational program to determine if a conviction would interfere with exam eligibility.

With this option, you’ll submit information and documentation regarding your potential ethics violation before you apply for certification and registration. The ARRT Ethics Committee will review your submission and determine if it warrants a sanction. If you receive a sanction, you might be ineligible to apply for certification and registration for a set period of time.

For more information consult their web site at: https://www.arrt.org/pages/earn-arrt-credentials/initial-requirements/ethics/ethics-review-preapplication

Ethics-Related Questions on Certification and Registration Application Form

Have you ever been charged with or convicted of a misdemeanor or felony? (This includes court convictions and military courts-martial.)

Answer "Yes" if you have: 

• Charges or convictions—including those that were stayed, withheld or deferred, set aside, or suspended 
• Any plea of guilty, Alford plea, or plea of no contest (nolo contendere) 
• Court conditions applied to your charge--including court supervision, probation, or pretrial diversion 
• Traffic violations charged as misdemeanors or felonies 
• Traffic violations that involved drugs or alcohol 

Answer “No” if you have no offenses. Also answer “No” if you have:

• Offenses and convictions that occurred before you turned 18 and that were processed in juvenile court 
• Speeding and parking tickets that weren’t charged as misdemeanors or felonies and that didn’t involve drugs or alcohol (if you have any traffic violation that involved drugs and/or alcohol, you must answer “Yes”)
• Charges that were dismissed with no court conditions required (if conditions were required, you must answer “Yes”)
• Court records that were sealed or expunged (if you don’t have court documents that prove your case was sealed or expunged, you must answer “Yes”)
• Offenses you’ve already reported to ARRT and about which ARRT has sent you communication

Has a regulatory authority or certification board (other than ARRT) ever done one or more of the following?

• Denied, revoked, or suspended your professional license, permit, registration, or certification? 
• Placed you on probation (excluding ARRT Continuing Education probation), under consent agreement, or under consent order? 
• Allowed voluntary surrender of your professional license, permit, registration, or certification?
• Subjected you to any conditions or disciplinary actions?

Answer “Yes” if one or more of these apply to you and the organization imposing the action wasn’t ARRT.

Answer “No”: 

• If you have no offenses 
• If your only offense is ARRT Continuing Education (CE) probation
• For offenses previously reported to ARRT and for which ARRT has sent you communication

Have you ever voluntarily withdrawn—or been suspended, dismissed, or expelled—from an educational program you attended to meet ARRT certification and registration requirements?

Answer “No” for offenses previously reported to ARRT and for which ARRT has sent you communication. 

Whether you answer “Yes” or “No” to this question, you’ll:

• Agree to Written Consent under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. Section 1232g (“FERPA”), which allows ARRT to:
  • Communicate freely and openly with your Educational Program Director
  • Obtain specific parts of your education records in order to verify whether you have ever been suspended, dismissed or expelled from an educational program that you attended in order to meet ARRT certification and registration requirements
• Waive, in part, the confidentiality of your education records under “FERPA”
• Consent to the release of any and all education records relating to your suspension, dismissal or expulsion to ARRT for purposes of its review of your application for certification and registration by ARRT.
• Agree to promptly execute any additional written consents under “FERPA” if your educational program has a different requirement

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If you’re not sure whether a potential violation is pertinent, contact the ARRT Ethics Requirements Department at 651.687.0048. Choose the option for ethics information. 

Remember, not reporting an ethics violation is itself a violation.

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