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JRCERT Update

Stephenson

The majority of programs demonstrate understand- policies and procedures in regard to health and safety.” 1-4
ing of the importance of having a published policy that For radiography, it is Objective 4.8; for radiation therapy,
addresses radiation safety practices for pregnant students. it is 4.6; and it is 4.7 for MR and medical dosimetry.
The most commonly encountered problems relat- Students must be familiar with each clinical site’s
ing to this standard are the failure to communicate the safety policies to ensure they are equipped with suf-
procedures for the withdrawal of a pregnancy declara- ficient knowledge to protect patients and themselves.
tion and the failure to stipulate that the withdrawal of a This requirement ensures student compliance with all
pregnancy declaration must be in writing. relevant local policies on safety. To ensure that students
achieve this level of understanding, a site must offer a
Radiation Safety dedicated orientation—along with appropriate corre-
Objective 4.3 “assures that students employ proper sponding documentation—before any student begins a
1-4
radiation safety practices.” Several aspects of this rotation at that location.
standard present pitfalls for educational programs dur-
ing the accreditation process, including policies related Documentation
to keeping radiation exposures as low as reasonably Although it is important to ensure the presence of
achievable, using radiation safety practices in the acqui- safety policies and accurately convey them to students
sition of radiographs, and providing adequate safety and faculty, it is equally important to document that
students have received this information. One way to
training and safety screening. provide documentation is to have students sign an
Students are prohibited from holding image recep- attestation form confirming that they received and
tors during image acquisition and strongly discouraged understand safety policy information. During the site
from holding patients during image acquisition. visit process, site visitors will discuss these policies
Adherence to these safety practices will limit the stu- with students to gauge their level of understanding;
dent’s occupational radiation dose and encourage use of therefore, it also is important for programs to confirm
patient immobilization devices during examinations. students’ ongoing understanding of these policies.
Because of the unique risks posed to health care pro-
viders and patients in relation to MR imaging, students Conclusion
completing an MR rotation must receive MR imaging Ensuring a safe training environment for students
safety training. This training, whether part of orientation is a shared goal of program directors, program faculty
activities or the formal curriculum, must occur before and staff, home institutions, health care facilities, and
the student starts the MR rotation. Further, it is strongly the JRCERT. Every objective included in JRCERT
advised that each educational program require students to Standard 4 serves to ensure that this goal is reflected in
complete an MR safety screening form before their clinical reality for all accredited educational programs. To that
rotations. This documentation, kept in the student’s file, end, care must be taken to ensure that the safety mea-
should be updated yearly, or whenever a student’s respons- sures in place are effective and well documented.
es to any of the screening questions change.
Common issues encountered in relation to this stan-
dard include failure to emphasize that students must Jason W Stephenson, MD, serves on the JRCERT board
not hold image receptors, failure to provide MR imag- of directors and is assistant professor, associate residency
ing safety training before students start MR rotations, program director, and director of medical student education
or failure to document the presence or distribution of for the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and
any of the above requirements. Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin.

General Health and Safety References
Each of the JRCERT Standards state that the program 1. Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic
“assures that students are oriented to clinical setting Technology. Standards for an accredited educational

RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGY, July/August 2017, Volume 88, Number 6 649
Reprinted with permission from the American Society of Radiologic Technologists for educational purposes. ©2019. All rights reserved.