MRI Technicians are in demand as the health care industry is ever expanding. An MRI tech is expected to perform scans using different frequencies in a magnetic field to come up with high clarity three dimensional pictures of different areas of the body. The output from the MRI scan is used by the doctors for diagnosis and to pinpoint the exact cause of an ailment or the exact location of a problem. MRI – Medical Resonance Imaging is a technique increasingly used and relied in radiology to view the internal organs, bones or tissue in the body. It is thought to be much safer than CT scans and other techniques where ionizing radiations are involved. It is supposed that there are around 25000 MRI scanners worldwide and the numbers are expected to go up as doctors rely more and more on this high clarity visual imagery of the internal organs. A job as MRI technician pays well and you will be required to work full time as a technician.

How To Become MRI Technician

MRI is a relatively new technology. If you are interested in a MRI technician career, you have to enroll in a course that specializes in MRI Technology. The eligibility for these courses will usually be that you complete an associate degree in any field of radiology. When you choose a college to complete your course on MRI technology, ensure that the college is approved by the Accreditation commission of ARRT. ARRT – American Registry of Radiologic Technologists offers a certification course in MRI. Even though this course is not mandatory, completing this MRI certification will give you a boost and visibility when you are submitting profiles for job applications. Your MRI technology training course should have courses covered in both classroom setting and in a hospital or on field setting. A MRI tech would be expected to have good on-hand training before given authority to handle the equipment without supervision and to take on patient scans. Once you have completed your course from a reputable institution, you should apply for license in the state where you would like to practice as a technician or technologist. Even if you have obtained a certification, MRI techs are expected to keep on continuing the education by taking up refresher courses once in every 2 years. Even though MRI is a specialty under radiology, it is still a wide field and a technician can decide to specialize further. MRI techs can specialize in pediatrics, neurological or similar fields.

What Can You Expect In Your Job as MRI Technician

MRI technicians will have to work with the highly advanced MRI scanners. These machines are ultra modern and highly expensive. Unlike other radiology equipments, MRI scanners do not emit ionizing radiations, but uses huge magnetic fields to produce scanned images of internal organs. MRI technicians will need to communicate clearly with the doctors as well as patients. The requirements of doctors must  be clearly understood so that the technicians can provide helpful images of areas that have been requested for scanning. The technician will have to get the contrast right on the required area so that the image is clear which will help the doctor pinpoint the problem. Just like most of the jobs in the field of healthcare, you might be required to work late or in shifts in your job as MRI tech. The job does pay well with average expectations to be around $50,000 a year. When you take up a job as MRI technician, you can also expect to do some physical work like handling heavy equipment and moving patients so that you can achieve a particular posture.