Medical Imaging Specialist

In the medical field, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Literally. As a Medical Imaging Specialist, you use machines to take X-rays, CAT scans, and MRI scans of the inside of a patient’s body. From broken bones to tumors, it’s crucial for Doctors to know exactly what’s going on in there so they can fix it.

For each patient who comes in, it’s your job as the Medical Imaging Specialist to review their charts to see what exactly you’re taking pictures of. Once the patient’s in place, either lying down on the machine or standing in front of it, as the Medical Imaging Specialist, you calibrate everything to start scanning the affected areas. Correctly setting up your equipment is the key to an accurate scan. After all, you don’t want to print out a fine batch of chest X-rays when the patient has a broken leg.

Once you’re finished processing the images, you check for errors before sending the pictures to the Doctor. Though you don’t provide a diagnosis, you do need to know what you’re looking for. Without the medical knowledge to understand what’s onscreen, you’ll have no idea if the images came out correctly or not.

Your job is part technical knowledge and part communication. Patients in pain or those suffering from an illness are often stressed out, and you want to make the procedure as comfortable as possible for them. And, of course, it never hurts to reassure patients that those scary-looking machines are nothing more than oversized cameras.