First-year radiography students pose with posters they created to demonstrate classroom lessons.

During two years of classes, labs and real-life clinical experiences, the students have learned and practiced the skills of a radiographer, a certified medical imaging technologist, who uses X-rays to create images that physicians interpret to diagnose disease and pathologies.

John Hughey, IU Kokomo’s director of radiologic sciences, said about half of the soon-to-be graduates have been offered jobs in medical imaging, pending graduation and passing the national certification board exam of the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists.

“As soon as I was accepted into the program, Dukes Memorial Hospital in Logansport offered me a job and to pay for my schooling,” said Tina O’Donnell. “As far as the boards go, I think all of us could pass without a problem. I’m ready to start working.”

Rhonda Allen, who has a tentative job offer from a Lafayette clinic, also feels well prepared. “The experiments in class have been helpful to learn the material.”

Taking classes on campus and gaining clinical experience at the same time is a plus, said Lindsay Posey. “Not all schools offer both experiences at the same time. When you learn things in class, you can reiterate what you’ve learned by actually doing it in clinicals.”

Kim Mote hopes to enter IU Kokomo’s new bachelor of science in medical imaging technology this fall. “I have all my prerequisites and all this time invested already,” she said. She sees the advanced degree as a step toward specializing in specific medical imaging modalities.

A 20-plus-year veteran of educating medical imaging professionals in north central Indiana, Hughey said his second-year students “have worked very diligently at being competent professionals. They have demonstrated remarkable progress in learning about the field of radiology and diagnostic radiography in particular.”

Second-year students of the associate degree program gain clinical experience in all imaging modalities, including MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), CT (computed tomography), nuclear medicine and interventional studies such as heart catheterizations (coronary angiography). With the recent addition of Woodlawn Hospital in Rochester, IU Kokomo’s radiography program has eight clinical sites—five hospitals and three out-patient imaging facilities—where students get supervised hands-on instruction working with actual patients.

“From these experiences, students learn to handle a diverse sampling of patients, examinations and equipment,” Hughey said.

As an ever-expanding science, medical imaging “requires a solid educational foundation, as well as continued education after graduation to maintain excellence in the field,” said Katrina Moore, clinical instructor at Tipton Memorial Hospital. “I am a very strong advocate for the importance of classroom education in preparing students for future success in this field. On-the-job clinical experience is an important tool to support and reinforce concepts and classroom lessons.”

Moore said she has been pleased with the hard work and overall knowledge demonstrated by IU Kokomo radiography students. “And, I think that employers will be pleased with the quality of these future technologists.”