The ASRT has announced the recipients of its distinguished author awards, recognizing the best peer-reviewed articles published in ASRT’s scientific journals in 2021. Presented annually, the awards are chosen by members of each journal’s respective Editorial Review Board after a comprehensive review of all scholarly articles published in the journals during the previous calendar year.

The Radiologic Technology Distinguished Author Award in Honor of Jean I. Widger goes to Asher Street Beam, D.H.A., R.T.(R)(MR), MRSO; Kristi Moore, Ph.D., R.T.(R)(CT); Shamsi D. Berry, Ph.D., CPHI; Lee Brown, D.H.A., R.T.(R)(N), CNMT; Stephanie Smith, M.S., R.T.(R)(MR); Alex Wilcher, M.S., R.T.(R)(MR); Aurlivia Bibbs, M.S., R.T.(R)(MR); and Isaiah Beemon, M.S., R.T.(R)(MR). Their article, “An Investigation of MR Imaging Scanner Noise and its Effect on Technologists,” was published in the July/August 2021 issue of Radiologic Technology.

Dr. Street Beam is director of the Master of Science in Magnetic Resonance Imaging program and associate professor for the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, School of Health Related Professions.

Dr. Moore is chair and director for the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences and professor of Radiologic Sciences at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, School of Health Related Professions.

Dr. Berry is assistant professor for the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the Western Michigan University, Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine.

Dr. Brown is director of the Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Sciences program and assistant professor for the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, School of Health Related Professions.

Stephanie Smith, Alex Wilcher, Aurlivia Bibbs and Isaiah Beemon are graduates of the Master of Science in Magnetic Resonance Imaging program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, School of Health Related Professions.

The goal of their original research study was to investigate the level of noise that magnetic resonance imaging technologists are exposed to during daily tasks and the prevalence of hearing loss among MR imaging technologists. They found that technologists are exposed for short periods to decibel levels higher than U.S. government-recommended occupational limits. Statistical analysis of survey results showed no association between time spent working in an MR imaging department; however, results did show an association between hearing loss and entering the scan room during image acquisition.

In addition, this year the Radiation Therapist Distinguished Author Award in Honor of Harold Silverman goes to Jana Koth, M.P.H., R.T.(R)(T); Brendan Coutu, M.D.; Lisa Bartenhagen, M.S., R.T.(R)(T); Weining Zhen, M.D.; Cindy Arneson, B.S., R.N.; Elizabeth Lyden, M.S.; Morgan Taft, B.S., R.T.(R)(T); Brett Thomas, B.S., R.T.(R)(T); Kim Wilson, B.S., R.T.(R)(T); and Nathan Bennion, M.D., for their article, “Assessing Anxiety Alleviation Through an Informational Video Before Head and Neck Irradiation,” which was published in the fall 2021 issue of Radiation Therapist.

Jana Koth is a clinical education coordinator for the Radiation Therapy program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Her research interests are in patient and student education, cancer prevention and treatment, and survivorship.

Dr. Coutu is a resident in radiation oncology in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. His research interests include physician and patient education. He manages various oncologic disease sites with special interests in the management of head and neck malignancies and lymphoma.

Lisa Bartenhagen is the Charles R. O’Malley Endowed Chair for the Department of Clinical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Sciences. She has also served as director of the Radiation Therapy program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for 22 years.

Dr. Zhen is professor and medical director in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He manages various oncologic disease sites with special interests in the management of head and neck malignancies and lung cancer.

Cindy Arneson is a registered nurse who spent most of her career caring for head and neck radiation oncology patients and now works in hospice care.

Elizabeth Lyden works for the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She provides consultation, data analysis and manuscript preparation in the departments of Infectious Disease, Orthopedic Surgery, Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine and Allied Health. She is interested in projects that involve nutritional status and its impact on disease development.

Morgan Taft is a radiation therapist at Nebraska Medicine with 13 years of experience. Her research interests include patient education. Brett Thomas is a radiation therapist at Nebraska Medicine and a clinical preceptor for students. His research interests include safety and quality assurance.

Kim Wilson is the lead radiation therapist at Nebraska Medicine and has 18 years of experience.

Dr. Bennion is a radiation oncologist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. His clinical and research interests include breast cancer, accelerated partial breast irradiation, hypofractionation, heart-sparing radiation, gynecologic oncology and brachytherapy.

The goal of their original research study was to characterize the effect an informational video designed to reduce treatment-related anxiety had on patients with head and neck malignancies who viewed it after their initial radiation oncology consultation. Koth et al found no significant difference in the mean overall anxiety scores between the control and intervention groups. However, they saw improvements in isolated questions on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults short form Y-1 and in the subgroups of sex, marital status, smoking status and time from diagnosis to consultation with radiation oncology.

The Widger award is named after long-time Radiologic Technology editor Jean I. Widger. The Silverman award is named in honor of radiation therapist Harold Silverman, an advocate for accreditation of radiation therapy educational programs.

The ASRT will honor the recipients at the Honors Evening Event on June 24 at the ASRT Annual Governance and House of Delegates Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

The American Society of Radiologic Technologists has named Shirley Porter, B.S., R.T.(R)(M), of North Dakota, as the winner of the 2022 ASRT Individual Award for Advocacy and the Louisiana Society of Radiologic Technologists as the affiliate award winner.

Based on nominations submitted by ASRT members, the ASRT Award for Advocacy recognizes and acknowledges achievements in various advocacy efforts, including overall growth and development of individual and affiliate grass roots involvement. The ASRT Committee on R.T. Advocacy selects the award winners, and the awards are presented on behalf of the ASRT Board of Directors. The 2022 Award for Advocacy is for efforts that took place between Oct. 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021.

Shirley Porter currently serves as the president of the North Dakota Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Board. She was incredibly active in North Dakota legislative affairs in 2021, spending countless hours working on Senate Bill 2122, which would have given physical therapists the authority to order, perform and interpret radiography and magnetic resonance imaging exams. Through Porter’s efforts, the bill sponsor rewrote the bill’s language to mandate that physical therapists can only order musculoskeletal radiographs, and radiography exams must be performed by authorized personnel outlined under current North Dakota law. Porter also collaborated with the North Dakota Board of Nursing leadership to help them come to a consensus that performing fluoroscopy procedures is outside the scope of practice for advanced practice registered nurses and should be considered an expansion of their scope. Even more, she was instrumental in advancing patient safety by connecting the nursing group’s leadership with the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists to ensure that APRNs pass a nationally recognized fluoroscopy examination before performing fluoroscopy procedures.

The Louisiana Society of Radiologic Technologists spent much of 2021 monitoring legislative bills and working with its Legislative Affairs Council to determine if active or proposed legislation affected the state’s medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals. In addition, the society launched a comprehensive communications program in 2021 that features social media, texts and videos as communication tools to alert technologists about state legislative issues. The LSRT also backed the Medicare Access to Radiology Care Act in 2021 by highlighting its importance as a professional-growth pathway and encouraging Louisiana technologists to contact their legislators to ask them to support the bill. Through its advocacy efforts in 2021, the LSRT saw its membership grow and reported an uptick in communications from technologists interested in getting involved with the society.

Ryan Appold,
R.T.(R)

The American Society of Radiologic Technologists has named Ryan Appold, R.T.(R), as the 2022 Student to Leadership Development Program Alumni of the Year. Appold was selected for this honor by the ASRT Committee on the Student to Leadership Development Program.

Appold was part of a cohort of nearly 100 students who took part in the 2019 ASRT Annual Governance and House of Delegates Meeting in Orlando, Florida. He is a 2020 graduate of the radiologic technology program at Middlesex Community College in Connecticut. As a student, Appold was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and the JRCERT awarded him with the Certificate for Excellence in Radiologic Technology for his dedication to the profession. Appold also got involved with ASRT while he was in school as he wrote a column titled, “Reel Life Lessons,” which appeared in ASRT Scanner.

Appold has been an active student member of the Connecticut Society of Radiologic Technologists. At the 2019 CSRT Annual Conference, Appold and some of his peer student members developed the presentation, “Improvisation in the Medical Field,” which they presented during the CSRT conference’s educational track. The CSRT recognized his commitment to the affiliate in 2020 and presented him with the CSRT Student Involvement Award. Appold currently works at the University of Connecticut Health Center: John Dempsey Hospital as a diagnostic radiologic technologist.

Outside of work, he serves as president-elect of the CSRT and chairs its Membership Committee. From 2019-2021, he was the chair of the CSRT Annual Conference Committee, and he served as the CSRT secretary from 2020-2021.

ASRT membership will recognize Appold at the Honors Evening ceremony at the annual governance meeting in Orlando, Florida, on June 24.

Starting in July 2022, ASRT will launch a biannual printed Directed Reading Supplement that includes six Directed Readings from the ASRT Online CE Library.

Published once in the summer and once in the winter at no extra fee, the supplement will include, on average, one mammography topic, one computed tomography topic, one radiation therapy topic and three general topics. Because the number of members who submit printed bubble sheet quizzes is less than 1%, all accompanying Directed Reading quizzes in the supplement must be completed online.

ASRT is offering the supplement as part of its ongoing efforts to meet the diverse continuing education needs of its members. With the introduction of the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists’ Continuing Qualifications Requirements, state-specific CE requirements and other modality-based specialized CE demands, ASRT must offer CE in a variety of formats to support its members. Providing members with two Directed Readings in ASRT journals every other month no longer meets a large segment of members’ needs. Therefore, ASRT has focused on building the Online CE Library.

All members have access to the CE Library where they can choose from more than 500 courses to match their exact needs and interests. Members who choose to receive the supplement will still have access to the CE Library.

ASRT has developed these different CE delivery opportunities to respond to the multiple variations in CE delivery requests it receives from its members.

“We’re committed to doing everything we can to continue to meet our members’ evolving CE needs under the current dues structure,” said ASRT Associate Executive Director Myke Kudlas, M.A., R.T.(R)(QM), CIIP, PMP, CAE. “By offering a robust complement of online courses and a printed Directed Reading supplement, we’re confident that we’re providing members with a variety of options to meet their ongoing and changing CE needs.”

Members who are interested in receiving the Directed Reading Supplement will need to opt-in for the benefit using the link below. In addition, members can update their CE preferences for ASRT publications using the same link.

Directed Reading Supplement Opt-in

The ASRT is seeking a qualified radiation therapist to serve on the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology Board of Directors.

Applicants for the role must be ASRT members and meet all eligibility criteria.

The call for volunteers, with extensive information on the qualifications and time commitments required for this opening, is available on the ASRT website. Please view the posting at the link below:

Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology

Please contact ASRT Volunteer Services at volunteerservices@asrt.org with any questions or concerns after reviewing the volunteer criteria for the position.

The ASRT is seeking qualified radiologic technologists interested in serving as members of the Practice Standards Council Medical Dosimetry Subcommittee.

Applicants for the role must be ASRT members, certified in medical dosimetry and meet all eligibility criteria.

The call for volunteers, with extensive information on the qualifications and time commitments required for this opening, has been posted to the open opportunity page. Please view the posting at the link below:

Open Opportunity Details

Please contact ASRT Volunteer Services at volunteerservices@asrt.org with any questions or concerns after reviewing the volunteer criteria for the position.

The average salary of a radiologic technologist rose by 11.2% over the past three years and now averages $77,027, according to results from the American Society of Radiologic Technologists Wage and Salary Survey 2022.

The survey shows that all major disciplines in radiologic technology saw average annual increases since 2019, with some areas showing greater gains than others.

“Compared to the 2019 wage and salary survey, the 2022 survey shows consistent gains across all practice areas,” said John Culbertson, M.A., M.Ed., ASRT director of research. “One should keep in mind the impact of the pandemic and rising inflation as contributing factors during this time period.”

Among major disciplines, radiographers experienced the largest average gains at 12.8%, from a $57,865 average annual salary in 2019 to $65,246 in 2022. Computed tomography followed with an 11.8% increase, moving from $69,896 to $78,159. Mammographers saw a 10.6% increase from $71,725 to $79,323. Radiation therapists experienced an 8.4% increase from $89,159 to $96,650. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists saw their pay increase by 8.2% from $76,177 to $82,395.

In addition, nuclear medicine technologists saw salaries increase by 6.2% and sonographers experienced a 5.8% increase.

The disciplines with the highest reported mean compensation were medical dosimetry at $131,766 and breast MRI at $119,944.

In addition to wage variations for different practice areas, salaries also fluctuate from region to region. On average, R.T.s working in California have the highest annual compensation at $114,123, followed by technologists in the District of Columbia at $96,954. Technologists in Nebraska earned the lowest base annual compensation at $54,894.

The survey also highlights R.T.s’ satisfaction with their compensation. Responses show that nearly half of respondents, 46.6%, are either satisfied or very satisfied with their pay. Regarding their benefits, 49.1% were either very satisfied or satisfied with their benefits.

The ASRT sent questionnaires in February 2022 to all currently practicing ASRT members with an email address in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. A total of 10,775 radiologic technologists returned completed questionnaires, resulting in an 8% return rate.

The ASRT conducts the Wage and Salary Survey every three years and has captured longitudinal data since 2001.

ASRT members can access the complete 2022 survey here.

The ASRT seeks qualified members to serve in the following volunteer positions for the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists:

• International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists – Regional Co-ordinator
  • Education Committee
  • Professional Practice Committee
  • Public Relations Committee
• International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists – Council Member

Please contact ASRT Volunteer Services at volunteerservices@asrt.org with any questions or concerns after reviewing the volunteer criteria for any of these positions.

The ASRT House of Delegates has re-elected Daniel DeMaio, M.Ed., R.T.(R)(CT), as speaker of the House and Shellie Pike, M.S.R.S., R.R.A., R.T.(R)(CT), as vice speaker of the House.

DeMaio is an associate professor and the director of the radiologic technology program for the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Pike serves as a registered radiologist assistant for Radiology Consultants of Iowa in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Daniel DeMaio, M.Ed., R.T.(R)(CT)

Shellie Pike, M.S.R.S., R.R.A., R.T.(R)(CT)

DeMaio and Pike are members of the ASRT Board of Directors. They will manage the House of Delegates proceedings during the 2023 ASRT Annual Governance and House of Delegates Meeting.

The ASRT Foundation — in conjunction with Joy Renner, M.A., R.T.(R), and Jordan Renner, M.D. — has announced it will develop a scholarship program to create a living legacy in honor of ASRT CEO and Executive Director Sal Martino, Ed.D., R.T.(R), FASRT, FASAE, CAE.

Dr. Martino will retire on Jan. 3, 2023, after 13 years leading the ASRT. Attendees recognized his contributions during a retirement luncheon held at the 2022 ASRT Annual Governance and House of Delegates Meeting where Joy also announced the new scholarship.

The Renners’ contribution, along with that of Chief Operating Officer for the ASRT Foundation and Executive Vice President of Development & Corporate Relations Steve Hardy, M.S., R.T.(R)(T)(CT), CMD, totaled $25,000 and serves as the initial funding to start the endowed scholarship to honor Dr. Martino’s legacy.

At Dr. Martino’s luncheon, Joy asked ASRT members to match the initial $25,000 gift to expand the fund. “Sal Martino is the complete package — a dedicated professional who has given so much in the work of promoting the profession … [and] a good, solid, ethical and caring person,” Joy said.

Following the announcement of the endowed scholarship, the Foundation received more than $10,000 of the $25,000 requested matching funds.

A gift in any amount will make a collective difference. Please donate as generously as possible and spread the word to your colleagues and organizations about this opportunity to support the future leaders of our profession in honor of Dr. Martino.