Teekendra Faujdar Sr. Radiation Therapy Technologist Fortis
Hospital & Cancer Institute, Mohali A day in the Life As :
Radiation Therapy Technologist
Aim & Objective : To share about A typical day in the life
as Radiation Therapy Technologist (RTT) includes their roles,
responsibilities, duties, working protocols, managment, working
stress, daily chalanges in this modern radiotherapy era. As well as
a bit information about how to become a RTT in India.
Introduction: RTT is a health care professional specialized in
delivering therapeutic doses of radiation in the treatment of
cancerous growth. They are involved in both planning and
implementation of radiotherapy treatment for patients fighting
various forms of cancer. Technology is constantly evolving and with
constant medical breakthroughs, the job of a RTT is rapidly
evolving as well.
Method and Material: Because RTT work with radiation and
radioactive materials, this is a potentially dangerous occupation.
However, following the proper safety procedures can greatly reduce
the health risks. Because of this Radiation & Health concern,
few questions are always presents in society:-
Continue Why do we choose Radiotherapy as proffesion? What does
the job involves of RTT? What are the roles and responsibilities of
RTT? Who will you work with? Career prospects? What is the minimum
requirment to be a RTT? What course to take & where?
1. Why do we choose Radiotherapy as proffesion? Would you enjoy
working in a team and with a wide range of other health care
professionals? Are you ambitious and looking for a career with
opportunities to develop your skills? Do you have good technical
and communication skills? If youve answered 'Yes' to all of the
above you should consider a career as a Radiotherapy
Continue Radiotherapy is about delivering potentially life-
saving treatment to cancer patients. You would be responsible for
ensuring that patients receive high quality care. You could make a
vital difference in many peoples lives.
2. What does the job involves of RTT? Almost all RTT jobs are
based in hospitals and cancer treatment centers Depending on which
radiotherapy department you work in,will depend on the hours that
you will work. At present every RTT works a 40 hour/week. Weekends
are not routinely worked in Radiotherapy, although some departments
have a system of 'on-call' whereby a RTT is available if there is
an emergency.
3. Typical Roles & Responsibilities: The role of the RTT
would vary depending upon their experience and expertise. They
would be able to: Explain treatment plans to the patient and answer
questions about treatment Follow safety procedures to protect the
patient and themselves from overexposure to radiation Examine
machines to make sure they are safe and working properly X ray the
patient to determine the exact location of the area requiring
treatment
Continue: Check computer programs to make sure the machine will
give the correct dose of radiation to the appropriate area of the
patient's body Operate the machine to treat the patient with
radiation Monitor the patient to check for unusual reactions to the
treatment Keep detailed records of treatment Continue to develop
their knowledge and skills.
4. Who will you work with? A typical RTT Team : A typical RTT
team would comprise a team of at least 4 to 5 individuals. There
would be a combination of RTTs, assistant practitioners and RTT
helpers. Each team member is responsible for ensuring that patients
receive high quality care. Each team would have a team leader or
Chief RTT,who has several years experience.
Other Health Care Professionals You May Work With : Radiation
Oncologist Medical Physicist Oncology Nurse Dietician Social worker
Physiotherapist Counsellors / psycho-oncologists Engineers
Receptionists and administration staff
5. Which equipments will you handle? In this Modern Era,
Radiotherapy totally depends upon highly advanced computerised
equipments,which are highly precised & works with complete
accuracy. RTTs are playing with these equipments called : Linear
Accelerator CT Simulator PET Scanner Brachytherapy Machine
Cyberknife
6. Career Prospects ? RTTs have a wide variety of proffesional
career paths that they can follow, some examples include: Chief
Radiation Therapy Technologist Team Leader RTTs Team Technical
Supervisor Radiation Therapist Dosimitrist Application Specialist
Education and training
7. What is the minimum requirment to become a RTT?As per AERB
Safety Code No.- AERB/RF-MED/SC- 1 (Rev. 1)/APPENDIX-VI, A
radiation therapy technologist shall have: (i) 10 + 2 or equivalent
with science subjects from a recognised board; and (ii) Minimum two
years radiation therapy technologists course, or equivalent, based
on the minimum course content prescribed by the competent
authority, from a recognised institution with in-field training in
radiotherapy.
8. What course to take & where? There are a few different
ways to become a RTT in india. Some people choose to attend a 2
years Diploma program, while others choose to earn bachelor's
degree or Postgraduate diploma in radiation therapy. Some peoples
choose to earn Master Degree in radiation therapy technology to
become a
Where.? AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) is the authority
in india, who is giving the permission to the institute for running
radiotherapy technology courses. There are 34 institutes in india,
Which are scrutinised till 04/06/2012 and found to be in line with
AERB requirements
Msc. Radiotherapy Technology: (2) Pt. J. N. M. Medical College
& Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, Raipur Postgraduate
Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh
Bsc. Radiation Technology: (11) Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute &
Res. Centre, New Delhi Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical
Education & Research ,Pondicherry Sushila Tiwari Memorial
Cancer Research Institute, Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust
(HIHT), Dehradun, Uttarakhand Kasturba Hospital, Manipal ,
Karnataka S. M. S. Medical College and Assoc. Group of Hospital,
Ramsingh Road, Jaipur , Rajasthan Postgraduate Institute of Medical
Education and Research (PGIMER),Chandigarh Mahatma Gandhi
University, Kottayam, Kerla Kasturba Hospital , Mangalore,
Karnataka Tripura Institute of Paramedical Sciences, Tripura
Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences(SKIMS), Srinagar ,
Jammu & Kashmir Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences &
Research Centre, Kochi,
PGDRTT (Postgraduate Diploma): (6) Institute of Medical
Sciences BHU Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Dr. B. Borooah Cancer
Institute, Gopinath Nagar, Guwahati, Assam Apollo Speciality
Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu Nizams Institute of Medical
Sciences(NIMS), Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh Rashtra Sant Tukdoji
Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, Nagpur, Maharashtra Tata
Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Diploma Radiation Technology: (16) Sri Venkateswara Institute
of Medical Sciences University(SVIMS), Tirupati , Andhra Pradesh
Dr. B. Borooah Cancer Institute, Gopinath Nagar, Guwahati , Assam
Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Regional
Cancer Centre, Patna, Bihar Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital,
Hyderabad , Andhra Pradesh Mahavir Cancer Sansthan, Patna , Bihar
GSL Trust Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, Rajamundry ,
Andhra Pradesh Basavatarakam Indo- American Cancer Hospital &
Research Institute, Hyderabad, M.N.J. Institute of Oncology,
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh Medical College, 88 College Street,
Kolkata, West Bengal NRS Medical College, 138 AJC Bose Road,
Kolkata, West Bengal Burdwan Medical College, P.O. Rajbari,
Baburbag, Burdwan, West Bengal Bankura Sammilani Medical College,
P.O.- Kenduadihi, Bankura, West Bengal Institute of Post Graduate
Medical Education & Research, 244, AJC Bose Road, Kolkata, West
Bengal Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, 37, S.P. Mukherjee
Road, Kolkata,
National Associations for RTT: ARTTI - Association of Radiation
Therapy technologist of India Other Indian Associations with also
you may register: IART Indian Association of Radiological
Technologist AMPI- Association of Medical Physicist of India JFMTI
Journal Forum for Medical Technologist of India
International Associations for RTT: ISRRT - International
Society of Radiographers & Radiological Technologists (UK) ARRT
: The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (USA) CAMRT:
The Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists
(CANADA) NZMBRT: NewZealand Medical Board of Radiation
Technologists (NewZealand) HCPC : Health Care Proffesional Council
(UK) AIR: Australian Institute of Radiography (Australia)
Conclusion : Radiation therapy is a very technical field, but
beyond the technicality, is the emotionally associated proffesion
with patients. Because of the extensive treatments duration and
reoccurrence a relationship is developed between the patiens/his or
her family and RTT. RTT spend most of their shifts working on their
feet, and may be required to lift or move patients who are unable
to do move on their own. But this isn't a physically demanding
occupation, but it
Conclusion: If you're passionate about helping people recover
from cancer but you're unable to spend a decade in college earning
a doctoral degree, and if you have good technical and communication
skills, if you have desire to intract and help the peoples, working
as a RTT could be a great career option for you.
Personal Overview : I am proud to call myself a Radiation
Therapy Technologist and take my job very seriously and hope that
if you decide to become a part of the Radiation Oncology network
you are committed to the lifelong journey of knowledge, compassion
and understanding this field entails, just as I am.
