Help wanted: Open positions have increased for rad techs in 2017

In the latest ASRT Radiologic Sciences Staffing and Workplace Survey 2017, data show that the number of positions that are open and actively being recruited for radiologic technologists increased in the previous year.

In the 2015 staffing survey, the vacancy rate was at 3.4 percent. It has since increased to 4.2 percent over the next two years. Eight medical imaging disciplines were tracked which included: mammography, bone densitometry, cardiovascular-interventional, computed tomography, sonography, magnetic resonance and nuclear medicine. Numbers proved that four of these disciplines and specialties saw vacancy rates increase since 2015, while the other half experienced slight decreases.

• Mammography increased from 2.6 percent to 2.7 percent.
• Bone densitometry increased from 1 percent to 1.7 percent.
• Cardiovascular-interventional increased from 4.1 percent to 8.7 percent.
• Computed tomography decreased from 4.5 percent to 4.2 percent.
• Sonography decreased from 5.1 percent to 4.3 percent.
• Magnetic resonance decreased from 4.2 percent to 3.9 percent.
• Nuclear medicine decreased from 2.8 percent to 2.3 percent.

“From a statistical viewpoint, many of the changes in vacancy rates are not significantly different from the 2015 results; however, the survey results did show a relatively substantial uptick in the vacancy rate for cardiovascular-interventional technologists,” said ASRT Director of Research John Culbertson, MEd, in a statement. “ASRT will conduct the survey again in 2019 to determine if rates change or stay comparably the same.”

Other findings from the staffing survey revealed the average radiography department has 3.7 machines, sees 11,658 patients each year and performs 20,566 images.

The survey ended March 13, with 945 respondents completing and submitting the questionnaire.