Radiology Help | Nuclear Medicine Technologist Schools | Ultrasound Technologist Schools | Radiology Technologist Schools

What are the requirements to become an MRI technician?

I know a high school diploma, but how many years of college? What courses will I have to take in college? How many degrees must I obtain?

Is there such a thing as an MRI doctor? Like for example, they tell the patients what is wrong with their X Rays and them, and then administer course of treatment.

If there is such a thing as an MRI Doctor, what is it called? I heard something that it could be related to a radiology doctor.

Posted on July 25, 2010 at 1:51 am by radiology · Permalink
In: MRI Technician Schools · Tagged with: , ,

One Response

Subscribe to comments via RSS

  1. Written by Top Soil™
    on July 25, 2010 at 2:39 am
    Permalink

    The requirements for being an MRI technician vary by state, but typically require at least two years of training following high school and then it will vary according to where you practice.

    The MRI technologist (aka technician) is trained in generating the images necessary for a given part of the body. The technologist, ideally, will follow the guidelines according to the protocol for imaging, say, a shoulder, knee, brain, or abdomen. MRI physics is quite complicated and the MRI tech is trained in obtaining an image that best depicts the anatomy and abnormality that a radiologist (a physician who reads MRIs) can examine and render a diagnosis.

    After the MRI technologist generates the necessary images as requested by the radiologist who is going to read them and makes certain that they are of adequate diagnostic quality, the radiologist can read evaluate them and issue a report of the findings.

    There’s no such thing as an MRI doctor. A radiologist is an MD who specializes in imaging. A radiologist can specialize in muskuloskeletal radiology or neuroradiology which each employ a lot of MRI, but also utilize other imaging modalities in order to made a diagnosis or to narrow it down.

    For example, suppose an x-ray is read which shows that there’s a tumor in a bone. The x-ray can tell the radiologist a lot of information about the tumor and its nature, but then additional MR imaging can provide the radiologist and the treating physician about the tissue characteristics and extent of the tumor, especially with respect to how much, if any, soft tissue is involved. So, you see how in this regard, it’s important that the physician who interprets the images have a thorough understanding of not only the underlying pathology, but how to utilize the various imaging modalities available to her or him in order to provide as much information as possible.

    In the old days, perhaps a litte over a century ago, imaging or radiology was referred to as roentgenology, after the man who figured out how to utilize a machine in order to obtain x-rays of the body.