Curriculum & Rotation

Curriculum

The 21-month clinical-based internship curriculum provides students with clinical education that includes instruction and experience in a variety of radiographic procedures, examinations and equipment operation. Didactic courses are divided into seven quarters. After the initial quarter, students are expected to complete clinical procedural competencies.

Fall Quarter, year 1

Introduction to Radiography & Medical Imaging
Medical Terminology for Medical Imaging
Introduction to Computers
Patient Care in Medical Imaging
Radiographic Procedures I
Fluoroscopic Procedures I
Radiography Clinical I

Winter Quarter, year 1

Imaging Principles I
Radiographic Procedures II
Fluoroscopic Procedures II
Radiation Physics
Medical Law & Ethics
Radiography Clinical II

Spring Quarter, year 1

Operational Issues in the Healthcare Environment
Radiographic Procedures III
Imaging Principles II
Radiography Clinical III

Summer Quarter, year 1

Imaging Modalities & Equipment
Radiographic Procedures IV
Radiography Clinical IV

Fall Quarter, year 2

Radiographic Procedures V
Radiography Clinical V

Winter Quarter, year 2

Radiation Biology & Protection
Introduction CT & Cross-sectional Anatomy
ARRT Review (begins)
Radiography Clinical VI

Spring Quarter, year 2

ARRT Review
Radiography Clinical VII

Note: Final course sequence may be subject to change.

Program Grading Scale

For all didactic and clinical courses, the following grading scale is used:

A: 94-100%
B: 84-93.9%
C: 75-83.9%
D: 65-74.9%
F: below 65% 

Requirements

Our goal is to graduate a professional that will understand the concepts of radiography, and be able to competently function as an entry-level radiographer. The school will issue a certificate of completion to a student, only if ALL of the following are successfully completed:

1. Didactic courses with a grade of C or higher
2. Clinical rotations with a grade of C or higher
3. All required General Patient Care and Procedural Competencies
4. All terminal competencies passed with a score of 80% or higher
5. All clinical hours
6. Tuition and Fees paid
7. Return all hospital-issued scrub sets assigned to personal scrub code

Program Hours

The program is scheduled for eight hours a day, five days per week. Students will be required to complete an evening clinical rotation (trauma radiography) during the second year of the program lasting approximately three weeks. Hours for this evening rotation will be from 2p.m. to 10:30p.m. In accordance with Accreditation Standards of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) students are not permitted to invest more than forty hours per week, or ten hours per day, in total program activities (classes, labs, and clinical rotations).

Clinical Obligations

Clinical rotations begin the 3rd week of the program and continue throughout enrollment. All students will rotate through various imaging areas at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Comer Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago Medical Center and Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from clinical assignments.

Prior to program enrollment, Northwestern Memorial Hospital will conduct a criminal background check and 10-panel drug screen on all incoming students at no cost to the students. Students must also produce records of vaccinations for measles, mumps, rubella and Varicella. A 2-step TB screen is required and a physical examination by the student’s primary care physician. All vaccinations, TB screens, and physical exams are at the student’s own expense.