Medical radiographer training must be 24 months and board-approved, and the department must make examination rules. Limited radiographer applicants face repeat-test limits and a one-year wait after repeated failures.
(1)(a) The educational program for medical radiographers shall consist of twenty-four months of instruction in radiography approved by the board which includes, but is not limited to: (i) Radiation protection for the patient, the radiographer, and others; (ii) Radiation-generating equipment operation and quality control; (iii) Image production and evaluation; (iv) Radiographic procedures; (v) Processing of films; (vi) Positioning of patients; (vii) Performance methods to achieve optimum radiographic technique with a minimum of radiation exposure; and (viii) Patient care and management as it relates to the practice of medical radiography. (b) The board shall recognize equivalent courses of instruction successfully completed by individuals who are applying for licensure as medical radiographers when determining if the requirements of section 38-1915 have been met. (2) The examination for limited radiographers shall include, but not be limited to: (a) Radiation protection, radiation-generating equipment operation and quality control, image production and evaluation, radiographic procedures, and patient care and management; and (b) The anatomy of, and positioning for, specific regions of the human anatomy. The anatomical regions shall include at least one of the following: (i) Chest; (ii) Extremities; (iii) Skull and sinus; (iv) Spine; or (v) Ankle and foot. (3) The examination for limited radiographers in bone density shall include, but not be limited to, basic concepts of bone densitometry, equipment operation and quality control, radiation safety, and dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanning of the finger, heel, forearm, lumbar spine, and proximal femur. (4) The department, with the recommendation of the board, shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations regarding the examinations required in sections 38-1915 and 38-1916. Such rules and regulations shall provide for (a) the administration of examinations based upon national standards, such as the Examination in Radiography from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists for medical radiographers, the Examination for the Limited Scope of Practice in Radiography or the Bone Densitometry Equipment Operator Examination from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists for limited radiographers, or equivalent examinations that, as determined by the board, meet the standards for educational and psychological testing as recommended by the American Psychological Association, the American Educational Research Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education, (b) procedures to be followed for examinations, (c) the method of grading and the passing grades for such examinations, (d) security protection for questions and answers, and (e) for medical radiographers, the contents of such examination based on the course requirements for medical radiographers prescribed in subsection (1) of this section. Any costs incurred in determining the extent to which examinations meet the examining standards of this subsection shall be paid by the individual or organization proposing the use of such examination. (5) No applicant for a license as a limited radiographer may take the examination for licensure, or for licensure for any specific anatomical region, more than three times without first waiting a period of one year after the last unsuccessful attempt of the examination and submitting proof to the department of completion of continuing competency activities as required by the board for each subsequent attempt. History: Laws 1987, LB 390, § 24; Laws 1990, LB 1064, § 21; Laws 1995, LB 406, § 47; Laws 1996, LB 1044, § 656; Laws 2000, LB 1115, § 74; Laws 2002, LB 1021, § 76; Laws 2003, LB 242, § 115; Laws 2006, LB 994, § 105; R.S.Supp.,2006, § 71-3515.02; Laws 2007, LB463, § 656; Laws 2010, LB849, § 5.