Technical Standards Policy

All applicants accepted into the Radiologic Technology program must be able to meet the program's technical standards as outlined in the Technical Standards Policy.

Any information supplied is voluntary and will only be shared with the appropriate college personnel who coordinate or provide support services or accommodations. Hudson Valley Community College’s Center for Access and Assistive Technology will provide accommodations for students with disabilities. Please complete the attached form certifying that you have read, understand and are able to meet these standards.

Technical Standards for Admission, Promotion and Graduation

Technical Standards are non-academic criteria used in the admission, promotion, and graduation of students. Technical Standards are published discipline specific essential duties for the safe and reasonable practice of Radiologic Technology.

Technical Standards are a concrete statement of the minimum physical, sensory/motor, communication, behavioral/social, mental/emotional and environmental requirements for normal and safe professional function. They are intended to inform the prospective student/professional of the attributes, characteristics and abilities essential to Radiologic Technology practice. Professional competency is the summation of many cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills. The College has a moral and ethical responsibility to select, educate and certify competent and safe students and practitioners. Patient health and safety is the sole benchmark against which we measure all performance requirements, including the Technical Standards addressed in this document.

An Applicant Certificate of Understanding must be signed on the last page and returned to the Medical Imaging Office.

All candidates for the A.A.S. Radiologic Technology degree program must possess the essential skills and abilities necessary to complete the curriculum successfully with or without reasonable accommodations for any disabilities an individual may have.

Students enrolled in the Hudson Valley Community College Radiologic Technology program must demonstrate numerous competencies representing all three learning domains – cognitive, psychomotor and affective. Students learn, practice and verify these competencies in a variety of settings including the classroom, the laboratory and in the clinical environment.

To achieve the mandated classroom competencies, radiography students must perceive and integrate information from a variety of sources. The sources include oral instructions, printed materials, visual media and live demonstrations. Students must participate in classroom discussions, present oral reports and successfully pass written and computer based examinations which include the interpretation of radiographic images. Completion of these tasks requires cognitive skills including reading, writing and problem solving. To be physically capable of classroom work students must with assistance be able to see, hear, speak, sit and touch.

Radiologic technology laboratory sessions provide students with the opportunity to view and participate in procedure demonstrations, practice radiographic procedures, acquire skills in radiographic technique development, radiation safety practices and image development. In addition to the cognitive skills necessary in the classroom setting, students must demonstrate the psychomotor skills to manipulate patient phantoms and radiographic equipment. Students must also demonstrate general professional behaviors such as team cooperation and the ability to communicate with others. To satisfy laboratory requirements, students must perform all procedures without critical errors. In addition to the physical capabilities necessary for classroom activities, radiologic technology laboratory sessions require students, with assistance to reach, manipulate and adjust the radiographic tube six feet from the floor while using both hands to perform procedures needing both fine motor skills and considerable strength. The latter procedures include lifting and manipulate mannequins, turning and moving patients, pushing wheel chairs and performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Clinical education courses associated with the Radiologic Technology program involve the application of knowledge and skills learned in the classroom and laboratory setting to actual patients in the clinical environment. Students must be able to obtain medical history from patient, parent or guardian. Students must be able to deliver, receive, and interpret verbal and non-verbal communication to and from the patient, the clinical personnel instructors and student peers. Students must be able to recognize and react to signs of medical emergencies. Students must record medical history, interpret patient charts and radiographic procedure requests, visually monitor patients in dimmed lighting and via video monitors during procedures. Students are required to utilize keyboards for clinical data input and for the adjustment of radiation control factors. Radiographic procedures are performed in a variety of settings including diagnostic radiography rooms, emergency rooms, operating rooms and patient rooms. Performing procedures in these areas require the student to move briskly between patient care areas as well as meeting the mental and physical demands in these environments.

Students must demonstrate a respectful and caring attitude toward all patients. They must also demonstrate sensitive responses to patients in the clinical environment and interact with peers, patients, clinical staff and faculty in an emotionally stable, professional and ethical manner. Respect for diversity among patients, clinical and college personnel and peers must be demonstrated.

For information on services for students with disabilities or if you have a question regarding this information please contact:

DeAnne Martocci
Director of Center for Access and Assistive Technology
Siek Campus Center, Room 130
(518) 629-7596
T.D.D. (518) 629-7596
Fax (518) 629-4381