Several students and faculty members from the Vance-Granville Community College Radiography program attended the 20th West Coast Educators Council (WCEC) of Radiologic Technologists Student-Educator-Radiographer Seminar, held March 7-10 in Orlando, Florida.
The annual conference is attended by over 1,000 students and educators in the Radiography field from all over the country. This year, 26 of the 50 states were represented.
While at WCEC, the VGCC Radiography students were able to meet imaging professionals who have written or contributed to the textbooks which the students currently use. The students also attended classes relevant to their major and were able to take a mock registry examination, which simulates the exam that all Registered Radiographers are required to take in order to obtain their registry upon completion of a two-year associate degree program. “The average score for the mock registry is around 65 percent, and the VGCC students scored within this range, indicating that they are on target for Registry success following graduation,” explained VGCC Clinical Coordinator/instructor Stacey Soles.
Students Mary Beth Brewer and Trevor Houston, both of Durham, and Jonathan Liddane of Oxford participated, along with their peers from across the country, in the “Student Bee,” with Brewer advancing to the second round. Only three students per program could compete in the Student Bee, a fun competition that tests participants’ knowledge of radiologic technology.
Additional topics of study during the conference for students included “Inside the NFL,” “The Role of Forensic Radiography in Peru,” “Sectional Anatomy,” “Technique 101: Getting Back to the Basics” and “Mastering Digital Radiography.” “’Inside the NFL’ gave insight into the role of Radiographers in sports,” Soles said. “Not only can Radiographers work in hospital and health-care settings, but they can be part of an NFL team!”
The other faculty member from the college in attendance was VGCC Dean of Health Sciences (and radiographer) Angela Thomas, who gave a well-received presentation to educators from many other states, entitled “Crucial Conversations.”
Based at VGCC’s South Campus between Butner and Creedmoor, the two-year Radiography degree program prepares graduates to be radiographers, skilled health care professionals who use radiation to produce images of the human body. For more information on Radiography, contact Dean of Health Sciences Angela Thomas at (252) 738-3397.
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