American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) leaders plan to launch by mid-year the first phase of an action plan that they hope will increase the medical imaging and radiation therapy workforce in the U.S.
Consensus committee workgroups are focusing on sustainable action, the ASRT said. In the work ahead, these groups will define the levels and roles for each step in the radiation therapy and medical dosimetry career pathway.
ASRT workgroups are also focused on creating intersocietal efforts that raise awareness of multiple roles within radiology and radiation oncology. These include medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals, physicians, and medical physicists.
Teams developed following the Consensus Committee on the Future of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy meeting which took place in February 2024 and was hosted by the ASRT, the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), and the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT).
The following organizations are involved in the project:
- Appointees from the ASRT
- The Advanced Practice Radiation Therapy (APRT) Working Group
- The American Association of Medical Dosimetrists (AAMD)
- The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM)
- The American College of Radiology (ACR)
- The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT)
- The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)
- Radiation oncology firm Elekta
- The JRCERT
- The Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS)
- The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Technologist Section
- The Society for Radiation Oncology Administrators (SROA)
- Radiation therapy firm Varian.
The joint workforce action plan is scheduled to occur in three phases, with the first phase completed by June 1, 2025, tentatively, according to the ASRT.