The radiologist assistant (RA) is an advanced clinical role for an ARRT-certified radiographer. The RA enhances patient care by extending the capacity of the radiologist in the diagnostic imaging environment.

With radiologist supervision, the radiologist assistant performs patient assessment, patient management, fluoroscopy, and other radiology procedures. The radiologist assistant also makes initial observations of diagnostic images but does not provide an official interpretation.

For admission to the BS and BS certificate (preexisting Bachelor degree needed) programs the applicant must have:

For the BS degree, the applicant must also have:

The program is 21 months, or 7 quarters long. The student will receive didactic and clinical mentoring on neonatal, pediatric, adult, and geriatric populations. According to the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) "the radiologist assistant has three primary areas of responsibility, all performed with the supervision of a radiologist. 1. Participate in patient assessment, patient management, and patient education. 2. Perform selected radiology procedures including, but not limited to, fluoroscopy. 3. Participate in the systematic analysis of the quality of patient care delivered within the radiology environment."

For more information on radiologist assistant please see the ASRT web site under "Professional development."

Courses will be a mix of lecture, discussion, and web-based learning methods.

Clinicals

Students are responsible for finding a clinical site and a mentoring radiologist. LLU will assist in establishing contracts and/or addendums to existing contracts. Students may be enrolled in this program outside of California.

General education prerequisites

Domain 1: Humanities & Religion

The study of cultural heritage may be selected from the following content areas: civilization, fine arts, performing arts (not to exceed 2 units), history, literature, modern language, or philosophy. A minimum of 20 quarter units or 14 semester units need to be completed prior to entering the program.

Students who have attended a Seventh-day Adventist college must have 4 quarter units of religious studies per year in attendance.

Domain 2: Scientific Inquiry & Analysis

Students must complete 12 quarter or 8 semester units from the natural sciences prior to entering the program. Courses may come from: biology, chemistry, physics, geology, and mathematics. No more than 6 units in any one area may count.

Specific courses required include: anatomy and physiology, research statistics, and research methods.

Stats courses must cover: collecting, summarizing, analyzing, presenting, and interpreting data, measures of central tendency and variation, probability, binomial and normal distribution, hypothesis testing and confidence intervals, t-tests, chi-square, correlation, and regression.

Research methods must cover: introduction to scientific method in research, the research process research-report evaluation, proposal writing, literature review, identification of variables, statement of hypotheses, research design and analysis, and presentation of data.

Statistics and Research Methods may be taken on the LLU campus for students in the vicinity of LLU (they are not available by distance education). Stats and Research Methods should be taken at a four-year college/university. Required for both programs.

For the social science area, 12 quarter or 8 semester units need to be in two or more of the following content areas: anthropology, economics, geography, political science, psychology, and sociology. Cultural anthropology is required.

Domain 3: Communication

Coursework in communication must include a complete sequence in freshman English consistent with the requirements of the college or university from which the units are transferred.

When the coursework is transferred from multiple institutions, the freshman English sequence must be equivalent to that which is required by one of those institutions.

Other areas of study in communication may include courses in computer information systems, critical thinking, and public speaking. The student must complete 9 quarter or 6 semester units.

Domain 4: Health and Wellness

To encourage the pursuit of lifelong leisure activities and wellness, the study of health and well-being must include at least two physical activities totaling a minimum of 1 quarter unit and one course in personal health or nutrition. A minimum of 3 units should be completed prior to entering the program.

Domain 5: Electives

Electives from the above-listed domains may be selected to bring you to the graduation requirement of 192 quarter units. Students will need approximately 23 quarter or 15 semester units in electives to bring their total general education courses to 71 quarter or 48 semester units.

Radiology Assistant Core Classes

The radiologist assistant core includes courses such as:

LLU is regionally accredited by WASC, 985 Atlantic Ave., Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501. (510) 748-9001 All information on this site is subject to change.

Required Certifications

These courses/workshops must be completed before the student starts the program. Proof of certification is required as part of the application process. Course costs vary. Courses are available at Loma Linda University or can be taken elsewhere.

1. CPR certification (adult, child) - Students cannot attend clinical without proof of a current CPR card.
2. IV therapy/Venipuncture course
3. ECG/EKG interpretation

Educational Background

Acceptance into either program is contingent upon completion of an accredited associate degree program (or equivalent) in medical radiography. Students who have completed a hospital training program are allowed 55 units of academic credit on the basis of their registry certificate.

Minimum GPA

The minimum acceptable GPA for admission to the radiologist assistant BS and BS certificate degree program is 2.8. A higher GPA is more competitive.

Recommendations

You must have three recommendations, a minimum of two from radiologists. The third can be from a radiology supervisor or administrator. Two must be from current places of employment.

Transfer Credit

A maximum of 70 semester or 105 quarter units from an accredited junior college will be accepted including units for clinical education. Students who have completed a hospital training program are allowed 55 units of junior college academic credit on the basis of their registry certificate.

Bulletin

A copy of the School of Allied Health Professions bulletin is posted on our school web site. http://www.llu.edu/llu/sahp/

Financial information

Students are charged tuition for all academic and clinical courses. School fees and book fees are extra. Required certification workshops/courses are not part of the tuition fees for the program. Room and board are in addition to tuition fees.

2007-2008 projected tuition costs

School admission fee: $60.00

Tuition cost: $26,520.00
School fees (divided quarterly): $3,325.00
Book fees: $1,500.00 approximately.
Total: $31,405 approximately

The student finance office on campus can provide information about how to obtain loans and grants. Start early as the deadline for many loan applications is February or March. You may begin the loan application process before you have actually been accepted. For information and an application, contact:

Student Financial Aid Allied Health Advisor
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda, CA 92350
Phone (909) 558-4509

Application Deadline

The application period opens in December and closes the following June. The program starts once a year in late September (Fall Quarter).

Transcripts must be sent from each college you have attended. Those without a bachelor's degree will need to also send a high school transcript. Our University does not accept hand-delivered transcripts or transcripts sent to us by the student. They must be sent directly from each of your prior institutions.

Loma Linda University requires all applications to be submitted online. Please use the following link to apply today. Apply now.

Mike Iorio, Program Director

School of Allied Health Professions

Department of Radiation Technology

Nichol Hall Room A829

Loma Linda, CA 92350

(909) 558-4931, extension 82368
Fax: (909) 558-4291

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