|
The American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT), located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a professional membership association for medical imaging technologists, radiation therapists and radiologic science students. ASRT members may specialize in a specific area of radiologic technology, such as computed tomography, mammography, magnetic resonance imaging or nuclear medicine. ASRT provides members with continuing educational opportunities, promotes radiologic technology as a career, and monitors state and federal legislation that affects the profession. It also works with other organizations to establish standards of practice for the profession and developing educational curricula. The ASRT is governed by an elected Board of Directors and a House of Delegates and has affiliate relationships with 54 state or local societies. Local affiliated societies operate independently of the national organization, but ASRT provides them with assistance and guidance upon request. The ASRT provides radiologic technologists with the knowledge, resources and support they need to provide quality patient care. It achieves this mission through: • Meetings. The ASRT conducts three educational meetings annually. Each June, it hosts an Educational Symposium that offers multiple tracks. Each fall, ASRT conducts a Radiation Therapy Conference in conjunction with the annual meeting of the (American Society for Radiation Oncology. ) Educational courses at this conference focus on radiation therapy and medical dosimetry. In late November or early December, it conducts the ASRT@RSNA meeting, which offers educational courses for technologists who attend the Radiological Society of North America meeting. • Publications. The ASRT publishes two peer-reviewed research journals. The bimonthly journal (''Radiologic Technology'' ) keeps readers informed about advances in technology and patient care. It also offers ASRT members the opportunity to earn continuing education credit through its Directed Reading program. ''Radiation Therapist'', published twice a year, focuses on technical advances in radiation oncology. It, too, features a Directed Reading program. ''ASRT Scanner'' is the society’s member magazine. In addition, the ASRT operates a website, (www.asrt.org ), which contains news, information about the profession, educational material for patients and a variety of professional resources for radiologic technologists. • Career Resources. The Society tracks members’ continuing education activities and maintains a CE record for each member that can be submitted as proof of continuing education. It conducts regular salary surveys of the profession, providing valuable information about income levels and trends. • Advocacy and Representation. The ASRT monitors and responds to all legislation that affects the profession and coordinates with other organizations to establish legal minimum standards to ensure high quality patient care. The ASRT also works to educate the public about the role of radiographers in providing quality patient care and patient safety in diagnostic imaging. • Professional Issues. The ASRT works with volunteers to develop and revise educational curricula, professional standards and practice guidelines for radiologic technologists and radiation therapists. The ASRT represents the profession in the governmental, educational and research arenas and was recently instrumental in the development of the registered radiologist assistant (R.R.A.), an advanced scope of practice for radiologic technologists. ==Early history== Within six months of Röntgen's discovery of the x-ray in 1895, physicians were using x-rays to diagnose and treat illness by physicians. However, it didn't take long for physicians to realize that to make the most effective use of their x-ray equipment, someone else had to handle the time-consuming tasks of performing x-ray examinations and developing films.2 The first x-ray technicians had a heavy load to bear. The vast majority were women, and they were expected not only to operate the x-ray equipment, but also to perform routine machine maintenance.3 These first technicians also worked in a climate indifferent to radiation protection, and the death toll among them was high. It wasn't until nearly 20 years after Roentgen's discovery that precautions such as lead aprons and film badges came into widespread use.4 Because instructional manuals were rare, the first technicians learned positioning and exposure techniques via the "hunch method."5 Despite this, many x-ray technicians were able to achieve what were then considered to be remarkable radiographic images. With no written rules, however, they found it difficult to explain their successes and could not formulate a technique that others could follow. The plight of the x-ray technician was largely ignored until the 1920s, when the persistent work of one man — Eddy C. Jerman — finally brought education, organization and legitimacy to the x-ray technician. In October 1920, Jerman and 13 technician acquaintances — half of whom were women — met in Chicago to establish the first national technicians society, the American Association of Radiological Technicians. The society was created "for the purpose of affording technicians an opportunity for the interchange of thoughts and ideas concerned with radiologic technique."6 The new society offered knowledge-hungry technologists the opportunity to meet and share technical advice. This process was formalized in 1929 with the debut of the society’s journal, ''The X-Ray Technician''. By 1932, when the association changed its name to the American Society of X-Ray Technicians, membership had reached nearly 400. Membership figures remained stable through the Depression, but surged following World War II when hundreds of military-trained radiographers returned home from the war to find jobs in civilian hospitals. The rapid increase in membership prompted the society to hire its first full-time staff person, Genevieve Eilert. In 1946, the ASXT established its headquarters in the basement of Mrs. Eilert’s home in Fond du Lac, Wis. ASXT membership climbed to 2,500 in 1948 and reached 4,000 in 1952. In the early 1950s, the ASXT made its first foray into establishing formal educational standards for the profession. Until then, training programs varied greatly in length and in the subjects covered. The ASXT presented its first standardized curriculum in 1952. It described a one-year course in x-ray technology and recommended the number of hours that should be devoted to each subject, ranging from physics and anatomy to positioning and darkroom technique. The 1952 curriculum was the first of many that the society would publish over the years as it consistently pushed for uniform educational standards for radiologic technologists. In 1964, the association changed its name from the American Society of X-Ray Technicians to the American Society of Radiologic Technologists. The change was spurred because more and more of the society’s members were nuclear medicine technologists and radiation therapists, so the term “x-ray technician” no longer accurately reflected the membership. In addition, members believed the shift from “technician” to “technologist” placed a stronger emphasis on professionalism and education. The same year, the society also changed the name of its journal to ''Radiologic Technology''. The ASRT continued to grow, and by 1968 membership had reached 14,000. The organization’s leaders realized it was time to move the burgeoning society from Fond du Lac, the ASRT’s headquarters for more than two decades. They chose Chicago, home to nearly 100 other health care associations. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「American Society of Radiologic Technologists」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|