In a hospital serving thousands of patients each year, the Imaging Department for Great Bend Regional Hospital has about a dozen employees and keeps extremely busy. Three of its employees recently passed new Boards, earning certifications to perform advanced level testing for the growing hospital.
Dan Ramirez and Ashley Dreiling, employees with the hospital for nearly five years, both passed their Computed Tomography (CT) Boards late last year. Shortly afterward, Lisa Klepper passed her Vascular Boards. Klepper has been with the hospital for four years.
“In the Radiology field, every technologist learns the basics of human anatomy, the physics of radiation, and how to perform X-rays while they are in school. After they pass their first Board exam, they can become a Radiology Technologist,” said Bill Henderson, Imaging Department supervisor. “There are more than 10 different Boards you can take to further your education for different types of tests and different parts of the body. These Boards are not easy, and it takes a lot of hard work and time to pass these exams once you’ve been out of school for a while.”
Great Bend Regional Hospital offers six different modalities in Radiology, and each modality requires the technologists to learn different physics, plus special anatomy features. Diagnostic tests available at Great Bend Regional Hospital include MRI, CT, Digital X-Ray and Mammography, Ultrasound, Nuclear Medicine, and Dexa Scan. In 2015, the Imaging Department performed 19,915 tests up from 18,159 in 2014.
To earn a new certification, radiology technologists have to submit studies they have performed and get them approved before they can even sit for the exam. “Anytime a technologist passes a new Board, it is a big accomplishment,” Henderson said. “I am proud of my employees, and what they are doing to improve themselves professionally and our department.”
Learn more at www.gbregional.com.