Melissa B. Pergola, Ed.D., R.T.(R)(M), FASRT is the CEO and Executive Director of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT). Dr. Pergola is a registered radiologic technologist with an extensive career in clinical practice, radiologic science education, hospital operations and leadership roles. She also has more than 25 years of experience as a volunteer for the ASRT, North Carolina Society of Radiologic Technologists, and various other organizations.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
This week on the Art of Improvement. I'm really excited to introduce you to
Melissa Pergola. She is the CEOand Executive director of the American Society of
Radiologic Technologists. Yeah, that's areally long, long term, but you
can also know it as ASRT.You're going to love her story, especially
(00:21):
if you have a young person thatmight be interested in this field. My
conversation with Melissa is next on theArt of Improvement. Thank you so much
for listening to the Art of Improvement. I have Melissa Pergola. She is
the CEO and Executive director of theAmerican Society of Radiologic Technologist. Melissa,
(00:46):
that's such a long name. Whatdo you do? Tell me? Thank
you so much for having me.So it is the American Society of Radiologic
Technologists, but we also call ourselvesso if that's easier, Yes, yes,
very much. So a little bitof oh yeah, go ahead.
(01:06):
No, I was just saying,got to tell everybody what this is.
Yes, So we are actually theworld's largest and oldest membership association for medical
imaging and radiation therapy professionals. Sooftentimes people ask, well, who is
that? And that tends to beone of the issues that we have in
(01:26):
our profession. So many of thelisteners probably interface with us when they have
X rays looking for bone fractures,or mammograms or many of the other things
that are medical imaging and radiation therapyprofessionals do, but they think we're nurses
or doctors. They don't realize thatwe are a whole profession of more than
(01:48):
four hundred and fifty thousand people inthe US who are critical to diagnosis and
intervention and treatment. So our organizationis the organization that supports to them.
Our mission is actually to advance andelevate the medical imaging and radiation therapy profession
and to enhance the quality and safetyof patient care. That sounds like so
(02:12):
much work, especially when you're dealingwith how many did you say, four
hundred and fifty thousand individuals? Yes, so there are there are over four
hundred and fifty thousand individuals and allthe modalities, and we have one hundred
and fifty seven thousand members. Wow, Wow, that's crazy. That's crazy.
Okay, So when you say thereare all of these subspecialties and yes,
(02:35):
everybody's heard of a radiologist, Iget that, But what you're telling
me, is it's way more thanthat, right, right, So the
radiologist is actually the physician who interpretsthe images, and our profession under the
umbrella of radiologic technologists are those whocreate the images that allow patients to get
(02:59):
a diagnose. So it oftentimes,as you said, when we think of
radiology, we think of the doctor, and sometimes we're even they even think
we're nurses when they interface with us. But we are the medical professionals who
have a whole body of science aroundcreating imaging and doing interventions. And like
(03:20):
with radiation therapy, it's the personwho is besides you administering that radiation therapy
treatment to cure cancer. Wow,well this is you know what I'm going
to take up a lot of yourtime because I have a daughter and she's
in a sophomore year of college andshe loves the medical feel and she tells
me all the time, I feellike I'm I'm changing my mind so much.
(03:46):
But each step that she takes inone direction, she fine tunes what
she doesn't like and what she doeslike. And so I'm asking you,
as a mom, what is thisa field that is emerging? Is this
is so is this a field thathas a need for more in the future.
What does it look like for youngpeople going into this field? Oh,
(04:08):
great question. So yes, itis a field that is emerging.
We know medical imaging and medical radiology, MRI, radiation therapy, all of
the different things that we do.The technologies are constantly advancing. So while
she may even begin in this professionas the way I did, like a
(04:30):
radiologic technologist or a radiographer, thereare opportunities today for her to specialize.
And we don't even know what opportunitiesshe might have in the future. I
can tell you we just did ourvacancy rates survey. We do a lot
of significant research in the profession ourassociation does, and we are seeing the
(04:54):
highest vacancy rates at least within thelast ten years of our profession. So
the availability for job is going tobe extremely well, they'll be available.
Yes, not only the benefit ofhaving this amazing career with opportunities, but
(05:14):
you are guaranteed a job that isfor sure well. And you cannot say
that about most jobs these days becauseit's such a weird thing to have to
look at the economy and to seewhat's hot what's not. But this is
something our health is something that's nevergoing away. Bottom line, right,
(05:35):
Yes, you're right right, willdefinitely be a career where you know you
will be employed. But I thinkeven more significantly, you have so many
opportunities. I can't say enough abouthow much I love this profession. I
actually started my X ray program fourdays out of high school thirty five years
(05:57):
ago. Wow. Wow, that'sawesome. That is so great. And
so let me ask you if you'vejust now started listening. This is Melissa
Pergoles. She is CEO and Executivedirector of ASRT, which is American Society
of Radiologic Technologists. Where can people, young people or anyone that's maybe a
(06:18):
little interested, where can you findout more about this? Yeah, so
of course I would say our professionalassociation has a significant amount of information.
So I would recommend going to ASRTdot org and there you'll see a section
called who we represent, and thatprovides more information about all of the different
(06:42):
careers that are available. And thereare actually twelve under the umbrella of Radiologic
Technology. But that's the place thatI would say to start an interesting thing.
We also if there are educators listeningwho want to educate, we have
something called rad Academy where we've createdvideos and an entire curriculum where educators this
(07:03):
one's focused on middle school age wherethey can go and actually educate their students
about this at a very young ageas a future profession. Just to ask
again, I'm taking up all yourtime about personal things. But so if
there is a student that is interestedin going into this field, is this
a field that is a four yeardegree, a two year degree, a
(07:27):
six year degree. How does thatwork? Yes, So there are a
couple of entry level positions in theprofession, and that would be nuclear medicine,
sonography, MRI, radiography, andradiation therapy. Now, for the
entry level, the minimum requirement tosit for the certification exam, particularly if
(07:51):
we're talking about the American Registry ofRadiologic Technologists who who holds many of the
credential exams and the profession. Andit's an associate degree, so it is
a minimum associate degree. But thenwe also have entry level back laureate degrees.
I was actually a professor at UNCChapel Hill in North Carolina for eleven
(08:13):
years where we had a back laureatedegree that was entry level into the profession.
And then if I keep on thatthread, we also have a profession
called the radiologist assistant, which iskind of like our mid level provider,
and that requires additional education after beinga radiographer for a certain number of years,
(08:33):
and it's a master's degree. Wow. Okay, well, and so
even though you said radiologists are doctors, does it end up sometimes that these
radiologic technologists become doctors or is itjust the masters? So we do have
many many of our imaging professionals andradiation therapists get their doctorate either to go
(08:56):
into education administration or to be auniversity professor, or to advance their careers
in hospital management for clinical purposes.We don't currently have a doctorate, but
we do have radiologic technologists who goon and apply to medical school and become
physicians. And I had some ofmy students at UNC go on and become
(09:20):
vascular interventional radiologists. Wow, radiologists. So it can start you on that
pathway. And I would argue you'reprobably, well, no, I wouldn't
argue you're probably. I am sureyou are a better physician than racist.
I bet if you started out asone of the radiologic technologists. Wow,
I totally get it. I meanit's like starting from behind the curtain and
(09:45):
finding out everything that you need toknow and then going ahead and just affirming
it. Okay, so now youprobably know why my daughter doesn't answer the
phone when I call. I'm like, you're not going to believe this.
Look what I found. But anyway, obviously, the education part and reaching
out to young people or you know, I shouldn't just say young people,
(10:07):
but anybody that's interested is just onepart. So tell us about another part
of your job and what you cover. Sure, So the ASRT I actually
have a staff of nearly one hundredand twenty right now, I mentioned we
have one hundred and fifty seven thousandmembers. But we work hard for all
(10:28):
the professionals that are under our umbrella. And I would say, if I
had to say what we do,I would say, there are three buckets,
So before I get into the buckets. Oftentimes we are seen as the
continuing education providers. So as withmany professions that have certifications, there's continuing
(10:48):
education that's required, and we doa world class job at that. We
have over one thousand offerings. Wetrack and transfer, so we send your
ceed directly to your accredited bodies.But what I would say about what we
do is when you pay for membershipof a professional association, you're paying for
(11:11):
much more than you get when youput that money into just a regular CE
provider. So again, I thinkif I was going to say three buckets,
one of the main things that thedues go towards are really advancing,
upholding and protecting the profession. SoI have a whole government relations department that
is working every day looking at billsat the state and federal level to protect
(11:37):
our profession. Let's see, wedo curriculum development, We do practice standards
to uphold what we do. Wehave world class peer reviewed publications, and
a research department that does national researchthat allows those leaders in the profession to
make educated decisions. So that's sortof part of upholding and protecting. But
(12:01):
then we've talked a lot about aboutstudents. We do a lot in terms
of career development too, So weoffer leadership academies for students. We have
what we call dodent exam Assessment librarieswhere they can take practice exams and get
feedback. Oh goodness, we haveroadmap they can follow a road so much
(12:24):
that is incredible, that is soincredible, and so I just it's hard
for me to get my head aroundthis because it's an organization that does so
many things. And so now I'mfinally trying like understanding and consuming the information
you're giving me to say why youhave so many different levels and buckets on
(12:50):
what exactly your organization does? Yes, yes, there's again with that mission
of advancing and elevating. There areso many things when you consider, particularly
a medical profession as important as ours, where there is no in oftentimes diagnosis
or treatment without our professionals getting thoseimages or giving those treatments. There there's
(13:13):
a lot that has to be doneto uphold standards in that profession and to
promote it and protect it. Wellissa, this seems like also, and please
correct me if I'm wrong, thisalso seems like an ever changing area of
medicine because of new discoveries or newways to use things. Because I remember
(13:39):
even the first MRIA ever took versusthe last one I took, and I'm
like, what happened? How didyou know? How in just a few
years did things change so much?Is that something that's going on in your
field? Also, yes, sowe are always looking towards the future.
As a matter of fact, inFebruary, we are going to hold consensus
(14:00):
Consortium on the Future of Medical ImagingRadiation Therapy and we are bringing together all
of our sister organizations in the radiologictechnology, REALM accrediting bodies, also credentialing
bodies, industry partners and we wantto make sure that we are the futurists
that are seeing what is happening andthen we lead what those standards will be
(14:24):
for that in partnership with industry.So yes, that is something that we
focus on as well. Not thatit even matters, but with this being
such a huge organization, it seemslike you would probably have influence worldwide.
Is that the case? Do otherslook toward your organization for insights into new
(14:50):
trends or the way the field isgoing. Yes, we actually have very
strong partnerships. There is an internationalSociety of Radiological Technologists that exist, and
we appoint members to their governance andwork with them very closely. We work
(15:13):
very closely with our partner in theUK, so the Society of Radiographers.
I'm on a global committee with thesr that I just mentioned. Where there
are people from all over the worldwhere we are looking at standards and ideas.
So we do that. We areasked oftentimes to join initiatives like that
(15:37):
because it is the United States.Now, do we always do things the
best? No, we can learnfrom each other, but yes, we
are absolutely at the table internationally.I'm just going to say this, and
I know it's nerdy, but I'mgoing to say it anyway. But I
don't know if I saw a movieor if it's just something that everybody says.
But I always hear you know,mass is the international language, and
(16:03):
when I hear you talking about theradiologic technologists, I mean this is also
an international language because you're dealing withthe human body and things that are going
right and things that are going wrong. So I'm sure that the I guess
the things that you learn from eachother must be huge. It is,
(16:25):
it is. I haven't mentioned wealso. I'm also the CEO of the
ASRT Foundation, and when we talkabout international, our foundation has a focus
working with international partners like rad aid, where we actually work with them and
send people into other countries oftentimes.I actually went to Malawi myself, wow,
(16:48):
where we ideology readiness surveys and helpthem and learn from them. Yes,
our foundation is amazing. They actuallyawarded almost two hundred and sixty two
thousand in scholarships last year as well, So that's another aspect of what we
do. And I didn't say anythingbecause I'm writing it down. That is
(17:11):
fantastic that if you just now startedlistening. This is Melissa Pergoles. She's
the CEO and executive director of theAmerican Society of Radiologic Technologists or ASRT.
And Melissa, you said people canfind out more by going to ASRT dot
org. Is that correct? Yeah, that's correct. So do you think
(17:33):
there's just too many questions for meto ask? And I keep on going
back to young people, but isthis something you, as a high schooler
said I'm going into the medical fieldor I mean, how did you even
get interested? What made you gothat direction? So you might hear the
smile on my face. This iswhy it's so important. And I can't
(17:56):
thank you enough for talking me todayabout this profession. I ended up in
this profession almost by mistake. Somy high school chemistry class, there was
a visit from the local head ofthe Radiologic Technology program she showed us X
ray images. I thought they werecool. I took the application, and
(18:19):
in my naive eighteen year old way, I applied, not thinking I would
really go there. But the acceptancecame and it was seven people, free
tuition, free living, free medical, free food, and you got a
stipend because you basically worked from elevento seven. And guess what my parents
said, No, that is incredible. Oh my gosh. They dropped me
(18:48):
off at that program for mad afterfrom high school and that started my career
that I had just I can't thankmy parents enough. But unfortunately, had
that person not come to my highschool class, I don't think I would
have even known that the profession existed. Yeah. Sure, that is incredible,
(19:11):
and isn't it great that, Imean, you even filled out the
paperwork. I know, I'm gettinggoosebumps because it is incredible. But sometimes
that's the way young people can narrowdown what they might be interested in or
not interested in. And I thinksometimes people think they have to have it
(19:32):
all figured out day one, thatyou know, they step into college.
But you just happened to be incrediblyblessed that it happened that way. Yes,
yes, and it was, youknow, my first night on call.
I was. I was still madat my parents, and I knew
all my friends were all partying,and I got to have an experience with
a senior student and the patient thatjust floored me. Tell me about it,
(19:55):
Tell me about it. Oh,so we were actually we had call.
So I was on call with thesenior student and we were just waiting
in our room for an actual youknow, a real phone, one of
those you know that sits on thebedstairs in the ring, and it rang,
and I went with the senior studentto the hospital and I don't remember
what the image was. All Iremember is the patient seemed fearful and anxious.
(20:19):
And I watched that senior student usenot only their physics, their maths,
their technical skills, but their empathyand their communication skills. And I
watched that patient become more comfortable andbe able to do what the technologist needed
them to do to get that importantimage. And I remember the technologists going
(20:41):
to run the film. So therewere actually dark rooms then, and I
was left with the patient, andI remember listening to them and connecting with
them and realizing, not only technicallyis this an important profession, but just
the difference that we make in interactionswith people really is part of our purpose.
Wow, that is incredible. Ilove that story. Ah, it's
(21:06):
so good. Melissa again, couldyou I know that sometimes people come in
and out of listening, but Ireally want for you to stress or you
know, emphasize that this is afield that is vibrant and growing. Oh
it is so for those who arejust listening, just started listening. We're
talking about the umbrella radiologic technology.And that's those who are radiographers who maybe
(21:32):
took an X ray because you thoughtyou had a foot fracture. There's THET
there's MRI. There's partiac technologists andvascular interventional technologists, mammographers, goodness gracious,
bone densitometry, radiation therapy, medicaljustemetrists, course, mimography, scenographers.
There's so many professions that you canget into. And we're not nurses
(21:56):
and we're not doctors. We're thiswhole other body of science that you may
not have known about. We evenhave a mid level provider that's a master's
degree, that's a radiologist assistant,and it is a profession where you can
enter. And then there are somany opportunities to grow and learn new things,
(22:17):
and we are seeing the biggest shortagesthat we have seen projected in our
profession. So not only will youhave a career, but you will have
an extremely exciting career. Okay,we have only two more minutes, and
you're going to kill me for endingon this note, but I'm going to
ask it anyway. Is this thetype of profession like a doctor, where
(22:37):
you get out of school, youhave three or four hundred thousand dollars worth
of student loans and then you startat minimum wage. Just go ahead and
tell us absolutely not. So mostof the entry level education into our profession
is an associate degree. We alsohave baclaret degree entry levels, and if
(22:59):
you're going to be a mid levelprovider, that's a master's degree. But
no, this is not a quarterof a million dollar to half a million
dollar medical degree. Good good storiesare very very competitive. Of course,
it depends where you are in theUS. But I can tell you,
well, I can't give you exactnumbers. You're talking significantly higher than minimum
(23:22):
Okay, good, Okay, Ifeel much better now. Melissa, once
again, tell people how they canget more information about your organization. Yes,
so more information about the ASRT andeverything we do, not just with
continuing education, but protecting and advancingthe profession. Go to ASRT dot org
(23:48):
and if you want more information aboutour foundation, which provides opportunities for scholarships
if you want to invest in thefuture, that is foundation dot asr T
dot org. Melissa, thank youso much for giving us all this information
today, and it has been apleasure talking with you. Oh, thank
you. And I'm happy to talkto your daughter if you need me to
(24:08):
convince her that this is the bestprofession for her to go into. I
was waiting for you to ask that. Okay, hold on one second.
Thank you so much, Thank you, Bye bye,
This week on the Art of Improvement. I'm really excited to introduce you to
Melissa Pergola. She is the CEOand Executive director of the American Society of
Radiologic Technologists. Yeah, that's areally long, long term, but you
can also know it as ASRT.You're going to love her story, especially
(00:21):
if you have a young person thatmight be interested in this field. My
conversation with Melissa is next on theArt of Improvement. Thank you so much
for listening to the Art of Improvement. I have Melissa Pergola. She is
the CEO and Executive director of theAmerican Society of Radiologic Technologist. Melissa,
(00:46):
that's such a long name. Whatdo you do? Tell me? Thank
you so much for having me.So it is the American Society of Radiologic
Technologists, but we also call ourselvesso if that's easier, Yes, yes,
very much. So a little bitof oh yeah, go ahead.
(01:06):
No, I was just saying,got to tell everybody what this is.
Yes, So we are actually theworld's largest and oldest membership association for medical
imaging and radiation therapy professionals. Sooftentimes people ask, well, who is
that? And that tends to beone of the issues that we have in
(01:26):
our profession. So many of thelisteners probably interface with us when they have
X rays looking for bone fractures,or mammograms or many of the other things
that are medical imaging and radiation therapyprofessionals do, but they think we're nurses
or doctors. They don't realize thatwe are a whole profession of more than
(01:48):
four hundred and fifty thousand people inthe US who are critical to diagnosis and
intervention and treatment. So our organizationis the organization that supports to them.
Our mission is actually to advance andelevate the medical imaging and radiation therapy profession
and to enhance the quality and safetyof patient care. That sounds like so
(02:12):
much work, especially when you're dealingwith how many did you say, four
hundred and fifty thousand individuals? Yes, so there are there are over four
hundred and fifty thousand individuals and allthe modalities, and we have one hundred
and fifty seven thousand members. Wow, Wow, that's crazy. That's crazy.
Okay, So when you say thereare all of these subspecialties and yes,
(02:35):
everybody's heard of a radiologist, Iget that, But what you're telling
me, is it's way more thanthat, right, right, So the
radiologist is actually the physician who interpretsthe images, and our profession under the
umbrella of radiologic technologists are those whocreate the images that allow patients to get
(02:59):
a diagnose. So it oftentimes,as you said, when we think of
radiology, we think of the doctor, and sometimes we're even they even think
we're nurses when they interface with us. But we are the medical professionals who
have a whole body of science aroundcreating imaging and doing interventions. And like
(03:20):
with radiation therapy, it's the personwho is besides you administering that radiation therapy
treatment to cure cancer. Wow,well this is you know what I'm going
to take up a lot of yourtime because I have a daughter and she's
in a sophomore year of college andshe loves the medical feel and she tells
me all the time, I feellike I'm I'm changing my mind so much.
(03:46):
But each step that she takes inone direction, she fine tunes what
she doesn't like and what she doeslike. And so I'm asking you,
as a mom, what is thisa field that is emerging? Is this
is so is this a field thathas a need for more in the future.
What does it look like for youngpeople going into this field? Oh,
(04:08):
great question. So yes, itis a field that is emerging.
We know medical imaging and medical radiology, MRI, radiation therapy, all of
the different things that we do.The technologies are constantly advancing. So while
she may even begin in this professionas the way I did, like a
(04:30):
radiologic technologist or a radiographer, thereare opportunities today for her to specialize.
And we don't even know what opportunitiesshe might have in the future. I
can tell you we just did ourvacancy rates survey. We do a lot
of significant research in the profession ourassociation does, and we are seeing the
(04:54):
highest vacancy rates at least within thelast ten years of our profession. So
the availability for job is going tobe extremely well, they'll be available.
Yes, not only the benefit ofhaving this amazing career with opportunities, but
(05:14):
you are guaranteed a job that isfor sure well. And you cannot say
that about most jobs these days becauseit's such a weird thing to have to
look at the economy and to seewhat's hot what's not. But this is
something our health is something that's nevergoing away. Bottom line, right,
(05:35):
Yes, you're right right, willdefinitely be a career where you know you
will be employed. But I thinkeven more significantly, you have so many
opportunities. I can't say enough abouthow much I love this profession. I
actually started my X ray program fourdays out of high school thirty five years
(05:57):
ago. Wow. Wow, that'sawesome. That is so great. And
so let me ask you if you'vejust now started listening. This is Melissa
Pergoles. She is CEO and Executivedirector of ASRT, which is American Society
of Radiologic Technologists. Where can people, young people or anyone that's maybe a
(06:18):
little interested, where can you findout more about this? Yeah, so
of course I would say our professionalassociation has a significant amount of information.
So I would recommend going to ASRTdot org and there you'll see a section
called who we represent, and thatprovides more information about all of the different
(06:42):
careers that are available. And thereare actually twelve under the umbrella of Radiologic
Technology. But that's the place thatI would say to start an interesting thing.
We also if there are educators listeningwho want to educate, we have
something called rad Academy where we've createdvideos and an entire curriculum where educators this
(07:03):
one's focused on middle school age wherethey can go and actually educate their students
about this at a very young ageas a future profession. Just to ask
again, I'm taking up all yourtime about personal things. But so if
there is a student that is interestedin going into this field, is this
a field that is a four yeardegree, a two year degree, a
(07:27):
six year degree. How does thatwork? Yes, So there are a
couple of entry level positions in theprofession, and that would be nuclear medicine,
sonography, MRI, radiography, andradiation therapy. Now, for the
entry level, the minimum requirement tosit for the certification exam, particularly if
(07:51):
we're talking about the American Registry ofRadiologic Technologists who who holds many of the
credential exams and the profession. Andit's an associate degree, so it is
a minimum associate degree. But thenwe also have entry level back laureate degrees.
I was actually a professor at UNCChapel Hill in North Carolina for eleven
(08:13):
years where we had a back laureatedegree that was entry level into the profession.
And then if I keep on thatthread, we also have a profession
called the radiologist assistant, which iskind of like our mid level provider,
and that requires additional education after beinga radiographer for a certain number of years,
(08:33):
and it's a master's degree. Wow. Okay, well, and so
even though you said radiologists are doctors, does it end up sometimes that these
radiologic technologists become doctors or is itjust the masters? So we do have
many many of our imaging professionals andradiation therapists get their doctorate either to go
(08:56):
into education administration or to be auniversity professor, or to advance their careers
in hospital management for clinical purposes.We don't currently have a doctorate, but
we do have radiologic technologists who goon and apply to medical school and become
physicians. And I had some ofmy students at UNC go on and become
(09:20):
vascular interventional radiologists. Wow, radiologists. So it can start you on that
pathway. And I would argue you'reprobably, well, no, I wouldn't
argue you're probably. I am sureyou are a better physician than racist.
I bet if you started out asone of the radiologic technologists. Wow,
I totally get it. I meanit's like starting from behind the curtain and
(09:45):
finding out everything that you need toknow and then going ahead and just affirming
it. Okay, so now youprobably know why my daughter doesn't answer the
phone when I call. I'm like, you're not going to believe this.
Look what I found. But anyway, obviously, the education part and reaching
out to young people or you know, I shouldn't just say young people,
(10:07):
but anybody that's interested is just onepart. So tell us about another part
of your job and what you cover. Sure, So the ASRT I actually
have a staff of nearly one hundredand twenty right now, I mentioned we
have one hundred and fifty seven thousandmembers. But we work hard for all
(10:28):
the professionals that are under our umbrella. And I would say, if I
had to say what we do,I would say, there are three buckets,
So before I get into the buckets. Oftentimes we are seen as the
continuing education providers. So as withmany professions that have certifications, there's continuing
(10:48):
education that's required, and we doa world class job at that. We
have over one thousand offerings. Wetrack and transfer, so we send your
ceed directly to your accredited bodies.But what I would say about what we
do is when you pay for membershipof a professional association, you're paying for
(11:11):
much more than you get when youput that money into just a regular CE
provider. So again, I thinkif I was going to say three buckets,
one of the main things that thedues go towards are really advancing,
upholding and protecting the profession. SoI have a whole government relations department that
is working every day looking at billsat the state and federal level to protect
(11:37):
our profession. Let's see, wedo curriculum development, We do practice standards
to uphold what we do. Wehave world class peer reviewed publications, and
a research department that does national researchthat allows those leaders in the profession to
make educated decisions. So that's sortof part of upholding and protecting. But
(12:01):
then we've talked a lot about aboutstudents. We do a lot in terms
of career development too, So weoffer leadership academies for students. We have
what we call dodent exam Assessment librarieswhere they can take practice exams and get
feedback. Oh goodness, we haveroadmap they can follow a road so much
(12:24):
that is incredible, that is soincredible, and so I just it's hard
for me to get my head aroundthis because it's an organization that does so
many things. And so now I'mfinally trying like understanding and consuming the information
you're giving me to say why youhave so many different levels and buckets on
(12:50):
what exactly your organization does? Yes, yes, there's again with that mission
of advancing and elevating. There areso many things when you consider, particularly
a medical profession as important as ours, where there is no in oftentimes diagnosis
or treatment without our professionals getting thoseimages or giving those treatments. There there's
(13:13):
a lot that has to be doneto uphold standards in that profession and to
promote it and protect it. Wellissa, this seems like also, and please
correct me if I'm wrong, thisalso seems like an ever changing area of
medicine because of new discoveries or newways to use things. Because I remember
(13:39):
even the first MRIA ever took versusthe last one I took, and I'm
like, what happened? How didyou know? How in just a few
years did things change so much?Is that something that's going on in your
field? Also, yes, sowe are always looking towards the future.
As a matter of fact, inFebruary, we are going to hold consensus
(14:00):
Consortium on the Future of Medical ImagingRadiation Therapy and we are bringing together all
of our sister organizations in the radiologictechnology, REALM accrediting bodies, also credentialing
bodies, industry partners and we wantto make sure that we are the futurists
that are seeing what is happening andthen we lead what those standards will be
(14:24):
for that in partnership with industry.So yes, that is something that we
focus on as well. Not thatit even matters, but with this being
such a huge organization, it seemslike you would probably have influence worldwide.
Is that the case? Do otherslook toward your organization for insights into new
(14:50):
trends or the way the field isgoing. Yes, we actually have very
strong partnerships. There is an internationalSociety of Radiological Technologists that exist, and
we appoint members to their governance andwork with them very closely. We work
(15:13):
very closely with our partner in theUK, so the Society of Radiographers.
I'm on a global committee with thesr that I just mentioned. Where there
are people from all over the worldwhere we are looking at standards and ideas.
So we do that. We areasked oftentimes to join initiatives like that
(15:37):
because it is the United States.Now, do we always do things the
best? No, we can learnfrom each other, but yes, we
are absolutely at the table internationally.I'm just going to say this, and
I know it's nerdy, but I'mgoing to say it anyway. But I
don't know if I saw a movieor if it's just something that everybody says.
But I always hear you know,mass is the international language, and
(16:03):
when I hear you talking about theradiologic technologists, I mean this is also
an international language because you're dealing withthe human body and things that are going
right and things that are going wrong. So I'm sure that the I guess
the things that you learn from eachother must be huge. It is,
(16:25):
it is. I haven't mentioned wealso. I'm also the CEO of the
ASRT Foundation, and when we talkabout international, our foundation has a focus
working with international partners like rad aid, where we actually work with them and
send people into other countries oftentimes.I actually went to Malawi myself, wow,
(16:48):
where we ideology readiness surveys and helpthem and learn from them. Yes,
our foundation is amazing. They actuallyawarded almost two hundred and sixty two
thousand in scholarships last year as well, So that's another aspect of what we
do. And I didn't say anythingbecause I'm writing it down. That is
(17:11):
fantastic that if you just now startedlistening. This is Melissa Pergoles. She's
the CEO and executive director of theAmerican Society of Radiologic Technologists or ASRT.
And Melissa, you said people canfind out more by going to ASRT dot
org. Is that correct? Yeah, that's correct. So do you think
(17:33):
there's just too many questions for meto ask? And I keep on going
back to young people, but isthis something you, as a high schooler
said I'm going into the medical fieldor I mean, how did you even
get interested? What made you gothat direction? So you might hear the
smile on my face. This iswhy it's so important. And I can't
(17:56):
thank you enough for talking me todayabout this profession. I ended up in
this profession almost by mistake. Somy high school chemistry class, there was
a visit from the local head ofthe Radiologic Technology program she showed us X
ray images. I thought they werecool. I took the application, and
(18:19):
in my naive eighteen year old way, I applied, not thinking I would
really go there. But the acceptancecame and it was seven people, free
tuition, free living, free medical, free food, and you got a
stipend because you basically worked from elevento seven. And guess what my parents
said, No, that is incredible. Oh my gosh. They dropped me
(18:48):
off at that program for mad afterfrom high school and that started my career
that I had just I can't thankmy parents enough. But unfortunately, had
that person not come to my highschool class, I don't think I would
have even known that the profession existed. Yeah. Sure, that is incredible,
(19:11):
and isn't it great that, Imean, you even filled out the
paperwork. I know, I'm gettinggoosebumps because it is incredible. But sometimes
that's the way young people can narrowdown what they might be interested in or
not interested in. And I thinksometimes people think they have to have it
(19:32):
all figured out day one, thatyou know, they step into college.
But you just happened to be incrediblyblessed that it happened that way. Yes,
yes, and it was, youknow, my first night on call.
I was. I was still madat my parents, and I knew
all my friends were all partying,and I got to have an experience with
a senior student and the patient thatjust floored me. Tell me about it,
(19:55):
Tell me about it. Oh,so we were actually we had call.
So I was on call with thesenior student and we were just waiting
in our room for an actual youknow, a real phone, one of
those you know that sits on thebedstairs in the ring, and it rang,
and I went with the senior studentto the hospital and I don't remember
what the image was. All Iremember is the patient seemed fearful and anxious.
(20:19):
And I watched that senior student usenot only their physics, their maths,
their technical skills, but their empathyand their communication skills. And I
watched that patient become more comfortable andbe able to do what the technologist needed
them to do to get that importantimage. And I remember the technologists going
(20:41):
to run the film. So therewere actually dark rooms then, and I
was left with the patient, andI remember listening to them and connecting with
them and realizing, not only technicallyis this an important profession, but just
the difference that we make in interactionswith people really is part of our purpose.
Wow, that is incredible. Ilove that story. Ah, it's
(21:06):
so good. Melissa again, couldyou I know that sometimes people come in
and out of listening, but Ireally want for you to stress or you
know, emphasize that this is afield that is vibrant and growing. Oh
it is so for those who arejust listening, just started listening. We're
talking about the umbrella radiologic technology.And that's those who are radiographers who maybe
(21:32):
took an X ray because you thoughtyou had a foot fracture. There's THET
there's MRI. There's partiac technologists andvascular interventional technologists, mammographers, goodness gracious,
bone densitometry, radiation therapy, medicaljustemetrists, course, mimography, scenographers.
There's so many professions that you canget into. And we're not nurses
(21:56):
and we're not doctors. We're thiswhole other body of science that you may
not have known about. We evenhave a mid level provider that's a master's
degree, that's a radiologist assistant,and it is a profession where you can
enter. And then there are somany opportunities to grow and learn new things,
(22:17):
and we are seeing the biggest shortagesthat we have seen projected in our
profession. So not only will youhave a career, but you will have
an extremely exciting career. Okay,we have only two more minutes, and
you're going to kill me for endingon this note, but I'm going to
ask it anyway. Is this thetype of profession like a doctor, where
(22:37):
you get out of school, youhave three or four hundred thousand dollars worth
of student loans and then you startat minimum wage. Just go ahead and
tell us absolutely not. So mostof the entry level education into our profession
is an associate degree. We alsohave baclaret degree entry levels, and if
(22:59):
you're going to be a mid levelprovider, that's a master's degree. But
no, this is not a quarterof a million dollar to half a million
dollar medical degree. Good good storiesare very very competitive. Of course,
it depends where you are in theUS. But I can tell you,
well, I can't give you exactnumbers. You're talking significantly higher than minimum
(23:22):
Okay, good, Okay, Ifeel much better now. Melissa, once
again, tell people how they canget more information about your organization. Yes,
so more information about the ASRT andeverything we do, not just with
continuing education, but protecting and advancingthe profession. Go to ASRT dot org
(23:48):
and if you want more information aboutour foundation, which provides opportunities for scholarships
if you want to invest in thefuture, that is foundation dot asr T
dot org. Melissa, thank youso much for giving us all this information
today, and it has been apleasure talking with you. Oh, thank
you. And I'm happy to talkto your daughter if you need me to
(24:08):
convince her that this is the bestprofession for her to go into. I
was waiting for you to ask that. Okay, hold on one second.
Thank you so much, Thank you, Bye bye,
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