Radiographer

Radiographers, also known as radiologic technologists, diagnostic radiographers and medical radiation technologists are healthcare professionals who specialise in the imaging of human anatomy for the diagnosis and treatment of pathology. Radiographers are infrequently, and almost always erroneously, known as x-ray technicians. In countries that use the title radiologic technologist they are often informally referred to as techs in the clinical environment; this phrase has emerged in popular culture such as television programmes. The term radiographer can also refer to a therapeutic radiographer, also known as a radiation therapist. Radiographers are allied health professionals who work in both public healthcare and private healthcare and can be physically located in any setting where appropriate diagnostic equipment is located, most frequently in hospitals. The practice varies from country to country and can even vary between hospitals in the same country. Radiographers are represented by a variety of organizations worldwide, including the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists which aims to give direction to the profession as a whole through collaboration with national representative bodies. Radiography#History For the first three decades of medical imaging's existence (1897 to the 1930s), there was no standardized differentiation between the roles that we now differentiate as radiologic technologist (a technician in an allied health profession who obtains the images) versus radiologist (a physician who interprets them). By the 1930s and 1940s, as it became increasingly apparent that proper interpretation of the images required not only a physician but also one who was specifically trained and experienced in doing so, the differentiation between the roles was formalized. Simultaneously, it also became increasingly true that just as a radiologic technologist cannot do the radiologist's job, the radiologist also cannot do the radiologic technologist's job, as it requires some knowledge, skills, experience, and certifications that are specific to it.