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JRCERT Update

Background Checks and Drug Screenings for Radiologic Science Students

understanding of an individual’s background, educa- in the urine, the program must determine the actions to
tion, and employment history. be taken. Programs then must decide which clearance
results would prohibit students from taking the ARRT
Drug Screening or state licensure exams and which would compromise
Clinical education centers’ drug screening require- future employment. Programs should outline clearance
ments vary. The dominant process requires employees requirements and, after coordinating with the institu-
to pass a drug screening before hire, upon hire, and tion’s admissions department, make them publicly
at random during employment. Radiologic science available to prospective students.
programs must consider the contractual requirements Many health care institutions use information from
with clinical education centers to ensure that students criminal records in hiring decisions and require a clear-
comply with the time frames in which clearances must ance as a condition of employment. Programs can look
be obtained as established in the contract. Screening to employers’ processes for ideas in implementing their
might need to take place at the time of admission to the own requirements. For example, they can consider a
program or in a certain period before starting a clini- structured approach that includes :
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cal rotation. Many programs rotate students through ƒ developing policies outlining how various crimi-
multiple clinical education settings, each with a set nal records could affect hiring decisions
of requirements. With this in mind, a program might ƒ providing specific written guidelines for identi-
consider applying the most stringent requirements to fying what constitutes a disqualifying criminal
all students, rather than having requirements unique to record for relevant jobs or job categories
each clinical education setting. This practice will lessen ƒ providing training with respect to relevant laws
the record-keeping workload of the program personnel and the application of established policies and
who track compliance. execution of established procedures
ƒ establishing a mechanism for oversight of the use
Why Conduct Clearances? of criminal record information
Radiologic science professionals spend significant In addition, Porter suggests that programs review
time with patients, performing numerous procedures. practical questions, consider legal issues, and develop
Individuals who have unidentified illegal behaviors consistent policies and practices around using back-
might put patients at risk. Clearances identify any ground check results in the admissions process. There
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criminal behaviors, as well as bring to light behav- are other tactics to consider in developing policy and
iors that violate the American Registry of Radiologic implementing clearance requirements for radiologic sci-
Technologists (ARRT) Code of Ethics. Students who ence students.
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are found to have displayed the identified negative
behaviors might be ineligible for certification and regis- Establish a timeframe, in the admissions process,
tration. 4 in which program applicants must obtain criminal
background and drug screening clearances
Implementation Considerations All program applicants should be required to
Entrance requirements for radiologic science edu- complete a clearance as part of consideration for
cational programs should include information about admission. A written statement indicating the clear-
clearances as well as a definitive time frame for clear- ance requirements, including procedures and time
ance submission. A factor in establishing the application frame, should be disclosed to the applicant as part of
process time frame is the amount of time required to the literature provided by the institution’s admissions
get an applicant’s clearance results after the request is department. Under such policy, an applicant might be
submitted. Programs also must consider the protocol required to sign a release acknowledging the clearance
for handling the results. For example, with evidence of requirements. The applicant should be responsible
a criminal history or presence of a controlled substance for submitting the results of the criminal background

524 RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGY, May/June 2018, Volume 89, Number 5
Reprinted with permission from the American Society of Radiologic Technologists for educational purposes. ©2019. All rights reserved.