Bachelor's degree offers more service opportunity

As the technology of medical imaging becomes more complex, thepeople who service imaging equipment require more extensive training.Highly trained professionals, however, are less likely to chosea career path with limited advancement opportunities, said MarkGraves, marketing coordinator for the Radiological Service TrainingInstitute.

Service technicians generally face restricted opportunitiesfor advancement within equipment companies and health-care institutionsbecause they lack a college degree. The highest degree programsfor equipment service training are at the community college level,Graves said.

"There is a need for more in-depth training of serviceprofessionals," he said.

RSTI plans to raise the level of the service profession byoffering the first Bachelor of Science degree in radiologicalscience, in cooperation with George Washington University in Washington,DC. General course work for the B.S. degree, which includes managementtraining, will take place at GWU. Students will fulfill theirequipment service training requirements at RSTI in Solon, OH.

The program is expected to begin next year, and applicationsare being accepted now, Graves said.

"This (degree program) will allow the service professionalto advance to an administrative position," Graves said.

The cooperative degree program is a major expansion of RSTI'simaging equipment service training business. The firm offers coursesaveraging two weeks in duration. Clients include both equipmentvendors and health-care institutions, Graves said.

RSTI trains technicians in service concepts rather than thespecifics of a particular vendor's equipment, he said.

"Our (hospital) customers are able to save money andservice equipment on a professional level when the technicianis trained to work on any equipment," he said.

Although RSTI trains independent service technicians, thefirm does not offer third-party equipment service on its own.RSTI is involved in non-training activities however. The firm'sMed Mark subsidiary, formed two years ago, is a medical equipmentdistributor. One of the products Med Mark handles is an Italianmammography system called Giato.