A Checklist for Mammography Training

Since healthcare education has become a vital necessity in today’s world, many courses offer training for using the equipment. Mammography training, in particular, is essential if one wants to use the equipment effectively, optimize diagnostic imaging quality, and take care of the patients. There are a lot of essential skills that people in the healthcare sector could learn from these specific healthcare pieces of training. Here are some of the things that are included when one is trained to use mammography equipment.

  1. MQSA Requirements: The first and most crucial aspect of mammography training is to be a registered R.T. and have no work experience in mammography before. Courses available provide comprehensive training that could last up to 40 hours. The training usually includes areas like breast anatomy and physiology, positioning and compression, Quality assurance, and control.
  2. ARRT requirements: After completing the MQSA requirement, ARRT requirements are essential. It includes the completion of 16 hours of training. The trainee needs to have at least one hour in each area regarding mammography content specifications. There are 75 exams in total for the trainee. Besides those exams, MQSA suggests covering a couple more exams, including patient preparation and specific mammographic imaging.

Here are the processes for the exams mentioned above:

  • Patient preparation and education: The trainee must provide the patient comfort and familiarize them with the complete system. There is a need to emphasize the need for compression; the same is included in psychological support. It is also essential to record the patient’s clinical history, which is relevant to analyze the mammographic examination. After the same, the location of the – lumps, scars, and moles must be documented in the clinical information sheet.
  • Mammographic imaging: One essential aspect of mammographic training is selecting the appropriate equipment for the patient to perform the examination better. The trainee also needs to adjust when it comes to exposure factors as it is necessary. Following that, there is a need to position the patient and the equipment for acquiring views as specified in the protocol. The image evaluation is the next major step for acquiring views specified in protocols relating to diagnostic quality.

Ancillary ARRT requirements

It is a given fact that the main purpose behind ARRT certification in Mammography is to identify people who qualify to perform all the activities that a mammographer does. To earn the certification, it is necessary to be able to provide the highest level of patient care.

Another ARRT requirement includes many quality control activities, including phantom image quality, visual checklist, compression thickness indicator, repeat analysis, and more. The trainee must also review 10 mammographic examinations relating to breast anatomy, pathology, image quality, and others to establish corrective action. The ARRT requirement also requires the trainee to participate in different procedures relating to breast MRI.

To get trained for the use of mammography equipment, it is pretty essential to have extensive knowledge and a certain level of experience. There are a lot of programs that offer comprehensive courses relating to mammographic training and the usage of the equipment.

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