In order to measure the student's ability to perform at satisfactory levels of competency, the following clinical competency flow chart has been developed.
- Students must be nationally certified in Radiography before program completion.
- Students must complete MAM 300 Patient Care in Mammography and MAM 310 Image Production in Mammography before any clinical rotations.
- Students must be enrolled in or have previously completed MAM 320 Anatomy, Physiology, & Pathology of the Breast and MAM 330 Mammography Procedures.
- Students will observe, assist, and perform Mammography studies under direct supervision in the clinical area, documenting observation and practice.
- Students request a category competency evaluation. All mammograms for competency evaluation must be performed on patients (not phantoms or simulations). The first 25 mammograms must be performed under direct supervision.
- Students pass the category competency evaluation and engage in performance of category examinations under indirect supervision or go back to (4) and remedial instruction while obtaining additional experience in the clinical area, then retake the category competency evaluation
Clinical Competency Breakdown by Course
MAM 340 Mammography Clinical Practicum (6 credit hours, ~360 clock hours) *
- Completion of ARRT clinical experience requirements outlined below.
The Mammography Program follows the ARRT Mammography Clinical Experience Requirements for post-primary credentialing. To successfully complete the clinical experience requirements, students must perform and document a specific number of clinical procedures.
- Students need to complete the activities before they apply for certification and registration.
- There are limits to the number of clinical experience entries students can report for each day (maximum of 16 procedures per day).
- Students must perform the clinical experience requirements no more than 24 months before submitting the application.
Students must document the performance of complete diagnostic quality procedures according to the following requirements:
- Mandatory Procedures
- Mammographic Imaging – Initial 25 Supervised Mammograms to meet MQSA requirements
- Mammographic Imaging - 75 Mammograms (Screening or Diagnostic)
- Quality Control Procedures – 32 Q.C. procedures - Students will participate* in the performance, evaluation, and recording of the Q.C. tests according to the manufacturer's recommendations and date intervals.
- Mammographic Image Evaluation – 10 Image Evaluation Cases
- Students must consult with an MQSA-qualified interpreting physician at least once, to review 10 (or more) mammographic cases for breast anatomy, pathology, and image quality, and establish corrective action per EQUIP (Enhancing Quality Using the Inspection Program) regulations.
- Elective Procedures
- The student must observe, assist with, or participate* in at least five of the ARRT-defined elective procedures. For each individual patient per day, the student may count up to two procedures. The student may document all five elective procedures in one day.
*Participate means the student will be actively involved in the performance of the procedure, even though the student may not have primary responsibility for performing the procedure.
Mammographers at the clinical site are responsible for evaluating students for the category competency evaluations.
Any student not completing the requirements during the semester will be given an incomplete (Refer to the Incomplete Grade Policy).