Eight Students Graduate from ARMC’s School of Radiologic Technology

Eight students graduated from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center’s School of Radiologic Technology during a ceremony held recently at ARMC. More than 100 guests attended the event, which featured an awards presentation, and speakers from ARMC and Crafton Hills College. ARMC’s unique 23-month hospital-based Radiologic Technology program provides students with classroom instruction and extensive clinical experience. ARMC provides the program to help train tomorrow’s health care professionals. This year’s graduates are: Artur Ayvazyan, of Redlands; Heather Bartlett, of Yucaipa; Manuel Garcia, of San Bernardino; Ashley Hunt, of Loma Linda; Julia Minter, of Redlands; Michael Thomas, of Victorville; Elisha Turner, of Redlands; and Moises Villegas, of San Bernardino. Awards were presented to several graduates including Hunt, Cristi Hall Award; Ayvazyan, Clinical Achievement Award and Academic Achievement Award; Bartlett, Academic Achievement Award; and Minter, Academic Achievement Award. Speakers at the event included: ARMC Chief Operating Officer, Maureen Malone; ARMC Associate Administrator of Professional Services, Deborah Pease; Crafton Hills College Vice President of Instruction, Bryan Reece; and Crafton Hills College Dean of Career Education and Human Development, June Yamamoto. ARMC is the only hospital-based Radiologic Technology program in the area with a community college affiliation. The certificate program, which began in the 1960s and was affiliated with Crafton Hills College in 1985, is sponsored by the County of San Bernardino, and is accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology. Individuals in the program can earn an Associate of Science degree in Radiologic Technology through the college. Radiologic Technologists are health care professionals who perform a variety of medical imaging procedures in hospitals, clinics, and imaging centers. Each year, approximately 70 applicants apply for a place in the program and about eight students are accepted. “I am very proud of our graduates because they have completed a journey that was very demanding and sometimes difficult,” said ARMC Radiologic Technology School Program Director, Morris Hunter. “In addition to the program’s intense schedule, some of the students had to work part time as they balanced home and school duties.” The 40-hour-per-week program at ARMC includes about 12 hours of classroom instruction each week in areas such as Anatomy, Physics, and Radiation Protection, with the remaining time apportioned to the clinical component, which includes training in the use of medical imaging equipment. Graduates of the program are eligible for national and state licensing exams and are qualified for entry-level radiologic technology positions once a license is granted. Most graduates of the program find employment within six months of graduation, said Hunter. “I chose ARMC’s School of Radiologic Technology because I heard wonderful things about the program,” said Hunt, who recently took her board exam and passed. “Some of my friends graduated from ARMC, and they said you can’t top the clinical experience. Most clinical rotations move you from hospital to hospital, but our program kept us at ARMC, a Level II Trauma Center.” Seven of the graduates recently took and passed their American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) board exams, and the remaining graduate will be taking the exam soon, said Hunter. ARRT certification indicates to prospective employers that students have met nationally recognized standards.