RAD-AID / ASRT FOUNDATION RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGIST FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

RAD-AID and the ASRT Foundation are pleased to collaborate on   a program designed to give radiologic technologists the opportunity to contribute to the health care needs of the developing world. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that two-thirds of the world's population has little or no access to radiology services. This disparity has contributed to inadequate health care among poor populations, such as women's health (breast cancer screening and maternal infant health), infectious disease, cancer, heart disease, and trauma, because these diseases often require radiology for diagnosis and care. Technologists and therapists are a vital part of the solution because high quality imaging that is safe for patients and effective for diagnosis requires highly skilled imaging professionals.  

To address this worldwide problem, RAD-AID and the ASRT Foundation are collaborating to offer funded opportunities to support technologists and therapists interested in serving in the developing world. Recipients of this award will join RAD-AID’s project teams in international initiatives designed to improve access to quality medical imaging for populations in need. If you are an ASRT member with an interest in working with RAD-AID in developing countries, you are encouraged to apply for this fellowship. Current RAD-AID projects and collaborative programs include Haiti, Latin America, India, China, and Africa. Available opportunities include educational training, research, direct on-site assistance in medical imaging, and strategic planning of new radiology services. Recipients of this award will have the opportunity to work as a member of RAD-AID’s multidisciplinary teams. These teams include radiologists, radiologic technologists, nurses, public health officers, and business leaders from numerous institutions working together to implement solutions that integrate economic development, health care system evaluation, technology innovation, and clinical education. 

Eligibility

You are eligible to apply if you meet all of the following criteria:  

1.     A minimum of 3 years clinical experience in modality of practice.

2.     Board certified in your modality of practice

3.     An active member of the ASRT.

How to Apply

To complete the web-based program application, interested individuals must first request a personalized application web-link by completing an application request form. Upon submission of the application request form, a personalized application web-link will be provided within 5 business days. Once received, the application can be accessed, edited, submitted as well as updated at any time. Only applications that are submitted, however, will be eligible for consideration. Once submitted, all applications will remain eligible for consideration for up to one calendar year from the date submitted with no need to resubmit the application. After one year following application submission, if not selected for a Technologist Fellow outreach opportunity, you will be notified of the need to resubmit your application.

A minimum of four outreach opportunities will be offered each calendar year, with each opportunity enabling a minimum of at least two Technologist fellow applicants to be selected per an outreach project. This allows for a minimum of eight Technologist Fellow applicants to be selected per a calendar year.

Applications are reviewed by RAD-AID and organized in order of preference based on selective factors including but not limited to: 

- Certified in modality of need by outreach project

- Number of years in clinical practice

- Familiarity with culture of outreach project site

- Prior radiology outreach experience

- Answers to the application essay questions

The top ten applicants will be notified of their graduation to the second round of review, and asked to verify their ability for the upcoming outreach opportunity. Those confirming their availability for the outreach project dates will then be considered for final selection. Final approval of the Technologist Fellows to be selected will be decided by the ASRT Foundation.  The applicants selected to serve as Technologist Fellows will be notified a minimum of 2 months prior to the expected outreach project departure date.

Timing and location of international travel will be determined on a case-by case basis depending on specific outreach project needs. Any questions about this program or the application process can be emailed to RAD-AID’s Director of Technologist Programming, Melissa Culp at mculp@rad-aid.org.

Benefits of this program

Participants in this program receive the following key benefits:

 1. Support for approved travel and related costs.

 2. Structured project goals and strategies from RAD-AID Management Team.

 3. Guidance from RAD-AID on international travel and safety, including vaccinations, visa application(s), and insurance.

 4. Training on international cross-cultural etiquette from RAD-AID (via free participation in GlobeSmart online education modules) pertaining to your assigned host country (if available).

 5. Collaboration with RAD-AID team members to publish your experiences in a scholarly journal, at the discretion of RAD-AID.

 6. Opportunity to present, at the discretion of conference organizers, your work to a diverse imaging community of radiologists,  technologists, nurses, business leaders, and technology experts at the annual RAD-AID Conference on International Radiology  for  Developing Countries (held at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD).

 7. Networking with an expanding RAD-AID community, including the international health institutions involved in your project

Program Requirements

Participants in this program work in RAD-AID teams to assess, plan and implement international radiology services. At the completion of the project, participants are required to:

1.  Submit a written report summarizing your work, to be used by other RAD-AID team members for planning next steps in project management (required by all program participants).

2.  Submit one or more of the following to ASRT Foundation:

a.  An article, suitable for an ASRT publication, which summarizes the project, your experience and/or data. Publication of submission is at the discretion of the ASRT. The ASRT retains the rights to materials submitted by the participant to the ASRT.

b.  Application or abstract to provide an oral presentation of the project at an ASRT-sponsored conference. Selection as a presenter is at the discretion of ASRT.

     3. Submit one or more of the following to RAD-AID: 

     a.  Application or abstract to provide an oral presentation (with slide deck) of the project at the RAD-AID Conference on International Radiology for Developing Countries (held at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD). *Subject to RAD-AID Conference Committee approval.

     b.  Maintain a blog or submit a photo journal of your project experiences. RAD-AID retains the rights to materials submitted by the participant to RAD-AID.

Conclusion

We hope you will consider applying for this new opportunity to apply your skills as an imaging technologist or therapist in service to developing regions of the world. The experience of working in a multidisciplinary team for radiology around the world can be personally and professionally fulfilling as you learn about other cultures and health care systems, to use your talents for improving global health.