Update November 2003
Just to update some misinformation in the Careers section regarding gaining a licence in the USA. The best option for a UK trained radiographer is definitely not to transfer into an American accredited radiography program and acquire their graduation diploma, thereby qualifying to take the ARRT examination. Firstly, this method has many barriers to entry and many schools are reluctant to take on this type of student. When I tried some time ago, although there was a list of programmes offering this route, none actually seemed to know how to go about it. Secondly, it is rather expensive to do (fees in the US are outrageous) and it would be necessary to gain some type of work visa (not the easiest thing to get in today’s climate of ‘terrorism’) as it requires you to be in the US for an extended period. The best option (cheapest, easiest, quickest) for a UK trained radiographer is to gain individual state licences. It is correct that some hospitals are reluctant to offer contracts to people who do not have full ARRT accreditation but I emphasise the ‘some’. I know through experience that there are enough that will offer contracts and the accompanying visa sponsorship to UK radiographers with state licences. Lastly, I also know that the state exams to gain licensing in both New Jersey and Florida (which are run by ARRT) are not limited versions of the ARRT examination in radiology. They also qualify you for a full licence in the respective states. Being someone who has tried to go through both the American accredited radiography program route and the individual state licensing route, I think I qualify to offer an opinion on this. Has anyone else UK or other tried to gain licensing in the US?? I'd be interested to hear the experiences others.
By Mark Nolan...
 

Working as a Radiographer in the USA

NEWS NEWS NEWS  (APRIL 2002)
 

The ARRT has recognized the Australian Institute of Radiography as an acceptable acreditation mechanism for radiography and radiation therapy.

The ARRT has recognized accreditation by the Conjoint Secretarist of the Canadian Medical Association for nuclear medicine, radiography and radiation therapy.

For nationals of other countries, the ARRT now maintains an "Advanced Placement Referral List" of schools willing to accept referrals for advanced placement into a program that can qualify candidates for the ARRT examinations in radiography, radiation therapy, and nuclear medicine. It should be noted that universities and colleges require completion of all degree requirements, which include liberal arts or general education courses as well as the institutional residency requirements. Hospital and medical center based schools often do not have such requirements and therefore offer a faster (and less expensive) option. For an updated list contact the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists by writing to 1255 Northland Drive, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120-1155 or phoning them at 651-687-0048. The ARRT does not respond to email, although information is often available on their website at www.arrt.org.

Candidates for certification in any of ARRT’s modalities may now choose to take their exams at test centers in selected European and Asian cities — significantly extending the reach of ARRT testing beyond some 400 centers in 250 U.S. cities, five U.S. territories and eight Canadian provinces that already offer ARRT exams.

ARRT tests are available through Prometric test centers in England (Manchester), Germany (Frankfurt), Italy (Rome), Japan (Tokyo, Okinawa), Korea (Seoul) and Spain (Madrid).

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A special package has been put together to help UK qualified radiographers wishing to work in New York or qualify to work anywhere in  the USA, This package is able to sort out all the red tape for you!
Contact :
Courtney Glenn,
Director HHC School of Radiologic Technology
Kountz Pavilion, Room 415
Harlem Hospital Center
506 Lenox Ave.
New York, NY 10037
phone 212-939-3476
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Gaining a licence to work as a Radiographer (Radiologic Technologist) in the USA is not one of the easiest processes if you didn’t receive your training in either Canada or the USA and from a school that was accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRC-ERT).  Although the USA has a national Registry (the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists - ARRT), most states have their own laws regarding licensing (although they all accept and most actually use a special “limited” version of the ARRT Examination in Radiography).  (Incidentally, in 2002 there were still 13 states with no licensing law at all.)  There is no central licensing agency like the CPSM and AIR of Britain and Australia. The way radiographers trained in the USA and Canada gain individual states licences is by taking a single exam governed by the ARRT. Taking and passing this exam gives you ARRT certification and most if not all states will issue you with a licence based on such certification. The problem is the ARRT will not allow anyone other than graduates from American accredited schools to even sit the exam. If you want to gain ARRT certification and were not trained in the USA or Canada you have to enrol in an advanced placement radiography programme within the USA. This can take up to 2 years in training on top of what you have already done in your home country and is a very expensive process. The ARRT webpage at the end of this document will give you more information about this option.

 

There are alternatives though.  The best alternative is to transfer into an American accredited radiography program and acquire their graduation diploma, thereby qualifying to take the ARRT examination.  A less desirable alternative is to take and pass one of the state licensing examinations (usually called “limited” licensing exams).  Many hospitals are reluctant to employ non-ARRT certified radiographers as the quality of the person is considered very second rate.

 

Some states such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida have an alternative to needing ARRT certification to gain a state licence. Those states that have this alternative generally have a system where they will allow you to take their own exams and will give you a licence based on this. This licence is often only valid for work in the state for which the exams were taken, although some states have had reciprocity agreements with other (usually adjacent) states. Most of these states with such an alternative actually use the ARRT exam.  It is in fact a “limited” version of the ARRT Examination in Radiography. The ARRT runs this exam for the state however it is the state, not ARRT who decide who can take the exam. Unfortunately ARRT certification can never be gained this way. The ARRT sends the results to the state for which the exam was taken and that state will issue you their licence. If you’ve taken the exam for one state and wish to gain a licence to work in another state you usually have to take another exam.

 

The best way to qualify for the ARRT examination is to graduate from an American school and there is a relatively easy way to do this.  The key is that you must graduate from a JRC-ERT accredited radiography program" although technically the ARRT will

tell you that the school only needs to have regional accreditation.....there are only 3 schools (out of >600) in this category at the present time and none of them are hospital-based, which is the route to use if you are coming from outside the U.S.  Here is the problem and how to do an end-run around it: JRC-ERT accredited radiography programs are based in a number of different settings: 4 year universities, 2 year community colleges, hospital and medical centers, proprietary schools, and military forces.  Of these, the hospital and medical center schools are the ones that can help provide evidence of meeting graduation requirements most easily.  The following website provides a current list of all the programs that are JRC-ERT accredited.....prospective ARRT candidates would have to select and contact a hospital-based program to inquire as outlined. Here is the website that maintains the current list of accredited programs: http://www.jrcert.org./proglists.html

 

Universities and colleges are under state laws that require particular numbers of academic credit hours from the school issuing the degree....these are usually termed "residency requirements" and they essentially require students to enrol in a significant number of courses and have a physical presence on the campus ranging from one term to one year depending on the state, school, and degree.  Hospital based programs do not fall under these laws and may not have residency requirements.

 Therefore, what the prospective ARRT candidate from outside the U.S. would be searching for would be a hospital-based JRC-ERT accredited radiography program that is willing to grant credit for holding British (or Australian) credentials in radiography.  Because these schools will be concerned about maintaining their academic rigor and their accreditation status, they can be expected to ask for competency examinations and perhaps several weeks of attendance to evaluate clinical competency.  So far, the only school we know that has been receptive to these inquiries is:St. Luke's Medical Center School of Radiologic Technology, 2900 W. Oklahoma Ave.,Milwaukee, WI 53201-2901, phone 414-649-6762

 

A little about the ARRT exam which most states use

First of all the state will most likely require that you submit to them copies of your resume, course transcripts, certificates, and other licences you possess such as CPSM certification. This is so they can make a decision as to whether or not they will let you take their own exams. Depending on where you were trained outside of the USA and Canada you may or may not be granted permission to take their exams. The time allocated to take the computer based exam is 3 and a half hours. It consists of 200 multichoice questions which fall under these 5 catagories

 

1.   Patient Care

2.   Radiographic Procedures (positioning, technique etc)

3.   Equipment Operation and Maintenance

4.   Image Production and Evaluation

5.   Radiation Protection

 

You will most likely need to put in some serious studying to pass this exam regardless of where you received your training. It as a common misconception that the multichoice USA exams are easy. They are not.

 

We strongly recommend purchase of one of the exam review books....amazon.com has then as do most medical bookstores.....those that are most commonly used are:

Calloway, W. (1995) Mosby's Comprehensive Review of Radiography . St. Louis: Mosby.

Saia, D. (1999) Radiography Prep. Baltimore: Appleton & Lange.

Saia, D. (2000) Appleton & Lange's Review for the Radiography Examination. Baltimore: Appleton & Lange.

Thomas J. (1999) F.A. Davis's Practice Guide for the Radiography Examination. Philadelphia: FA Davis.

Here is a list of the addresses and telephone numbers of some of the states bodies that deal with licensing. To dial any of the phone numbers from the UK you will have to dial 00-1 before the number listed here. Each state department can give you information as to whether or not they have an option other than ARRT certification to gaining a licence.

 

ARIZONA	Medical Radiologic Technology Board of Examinees
(602)255-4845	4814 South 40th Street, Phoenix, AZ  85040
ARKANSAS	Arkansas Department of Health – Radiologic Technology Licensure Program
(501)661-2000	4815 W. Markham St. Slot 30, Little Rock , AR  72205-3867
CALIFORNIA	Department of Health Services - Radiological Health Branch - Certification
(916)445-0931	P.O. Box 942833   MS #178, Sacramento, CA   94234-2833
COLORADO	Colorado State Medical Board
(303)894-7714	1560 Broadway   Suite 1300, Denver, CO   80202-5140
(719)392-2452	ITEP Exam Processing Center (for Limited Scope exams)
	P.O. Box 7871, Colorado Springs, CO   80933
CONNECTICUT	Department of Public Health - Bureau of Health System Regulation
(860)509-7562	410 Capitol Ave, MS #12APP, P.O. Box 340308, Hartford, CT   06134
DELAWARE	Office of Radiation Control, Health Systems Protection
(302)739-3787	Jesse Cooper Bldg./PO Box 637, Dover, DE   19903
FLORIDA	Bureau of Radiation Control – Radiologic Technology Program
(850)245-4540	Bin C21  4052 Bald Cypress Way, Tallahassee, FL   32399-1741
HAWAII	Noise and Radiation Branch
(808)586-4700	591 Ala Moana Blvd/PO Box 3378, Honolulu, HI   96813-2498
ILLINOIS	Illinois Dept of Nuclear Safety - Radiologic Technology Cert Div
(217)785-9993	1035 Outer Park Drive, Springfield, IL   62704
INDIANA	Indiana State Board of Health - Radiological Health Division
(317)233-7146	2 North Meridian St, 5F, Indianapolis, IN   46204-3003
IOWA	Iowa State Department of Health - Bureau of Radiological Health
(515)281-3478	401 SW 7th Street, Suite D, Des Moines, IA  50309
KENTUCKY	Department of Health Services - Radiation Control Branch
(502)564-3700	275 East Main Street,    Frankfort, KY   40621
LOUISIANA	Louisiana State Radiologic Technology - Board of Examiners
(504)838-5231	3108 Cleary Avenue   Suite 207, Metairie, LA   70002
MAINE	Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners
(207)624-8623	State House Station #35, Augusta, ME   04333
MARYLAND	Maryland Board of Physician Quality Assurance
(410)764-4777	4201 Patterson Ave/PO Box 2571, Baltimore, MD   21215-0002
MASSACHUSETTS	Department of Public Health - Radiation Control Program
(617)727-6214	174 Portland St., 5th Floor,          Boston,  MA   02114
MINNESOTA	Department of Health-Radiation Control Section
(651)643-2151	1645 Energy Park Drive, Suite 300, St. Paul, MN  55108
MISSISSIPPI	State Department of Health - Professional Licensure
(601)987-4153	PO Box 1700, Jackson, MS   39215-1700
MONTANA	Dept of Public Health - Board of Radiologic Technology
(406)841-2385	PO Box 202951, Helena, MT   59620-2951
NEBRASKA	Professional & Occupational Licensure Division
(402)471-2118	301 Centennial Mall So/PO Box 94986, Lincoln, NE   68509
NEW JERSEY	Bureau of Radiological Health
(609)984-5890	CN 415, Trenton, NJ   08625
NEW MEXICO	Radiologic Technologist Certification Program
(505)476-3264	P.O. Box 26110,  Santa Fe, NM   87505
NEW YORK	NYS Dept of Health - Bureau of Environmental Radiation Protection
(518)402-7580	547 River Street - Room 530, Troy, NY   12180-2216
OHIO	Ohio Dept of Health - Radiologic Technology Section
(614)752-4319	246 N High St/PO Box 118, Columbus, OH   43266-0118
OREGON	Board of Radiologic Technology - Suite 407 State Office Bldg.
(503)731-4088	800 NE Oregon Street, Portland, OR   97232
PENNSYLVANIA	Bureau of Prof & Occup Affairs-State Board of Medicine
(717)783-4858	124 Pine Street/PO Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA   17105-2649
RHODE ISLAND	Rhode Island Dept of Health-Div of Professional Regulations
(401)222-2827	3 Capitol Hill, Providence, RI   02908
SOUTH CAROLINA	South Carolina Radiation Quality Standards Association
(803)771-6141	P.O. Box 7515, Columbia, SC 29202
TENNESSEE	Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners
(615)532-4384	1st Flr Cordell Hull Bldg., 425 5th Ave N., Nashville, TN   37247-1010
ext. 24384
(615)673-0663	Exam Processing Ctr (for Limited Scope exams)  735 General George Patton Rd, Nashville, TN   37221
TEXAS	Professional Licensing & Certification Division
(512)834-6628	1100 West 49th Street, Austin, TX   78756-3183
UTAH	Bureau of Health Professions/Div of Occup & Prof Licensure
(801)530-6621	254160 East 300 South/PO Box 146741, Salt Lake City, UT   84114-6741
(801)355-5009	Experior, LLC (for Limited Scope exams) 5486 South 1900 West, Taylorsville, UT   84118
VERMONT	Board of Radiologic Technology - Office of the Secretary of State
(802)828-2875	26 Terrace Street  Drawer #09, Montpelier, VT   05609
VIRGINIA	Commonwealth of Virginia - Department of Health Professions
(804)662-7664	6606 W. Broad Street 4th Floor, Richmond, VA   23230
WASHINGTON	State Department of Health - HPQA  Division  - Section One
(360)236-4949	PO Box  47870, Olympia, WA   98504-7870
WEST VIRGINIA	West Virginia Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners
(304)787-4398	1715 Flat Top Road, P.O. Box 638, Cool Ridge, WV   25825
WYOMING	State of Wyoming Board of Radiologic Technologists Examiners
(307)777-3507	First Bank Plaza Suite #201, 2020 Carey Ave., Cheyenne,  WY   82002

For further information you can check out the ARRT web site at www.arrt.org
 

 Many thanks to........Mark Nolan
&
Rick Carlton, Arkansas State University, Radiologic Sciences Box 910