The American Registry of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists is a professional organization for individuals who administer a type of diagnostic medical testing known as MRIs. In addition to holding conferences and publishing newsletters for its membership, the ARMRIT offers a professional certification program for MRI technologists. The ARMRIT certification has the approval of the American College of Radiology.
Education and Experience
The ARMRIT requires all candidates for certification to meet minimum eligibility requirements. One way to fulfill the necessary criteria is to graduate from a training program in MRI technology that has accreditation through ARMRIT. As of March 2011, 14 schools in the United States had this approval. Candidates who have a bachelor's degree in any field qualify for certification, provided they have a minimum of 1,700 hours of full-time work experience as an MRI technologists. Those who do not complete an approved training program and without a bachelor's degree must have at least 6,240 hours of work experience.
Cross-training Experience
ARMRIT has special certification eligibility criteria for candidates who already work in some medical or allied health-related field. To qualify for certification, these cross-trained applicants must have a minimum of 1,000 hours of experience performing MRI tests. Among the medical professionals who qualify for certification through the cross-training option are medical assistants with national certification, sonographers with certification through the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography and nuclear medical technologists and radiographers certified by their states, the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists or the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board. In addition, licensed physicians, nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, cardiovascular technologists, emergency medical technicians and neurodiagnostic technicians.
Application
Those who qualify for certification from the ARMRIT must complete an application, which can be downloaded from the association's website. The application requests information about candidates personal contact information and employment and educational history. Candidates must have the application notarized prior to its return. In addition, they need to include a check or money order or provide a credit card number to pay the application fee. As of March 2011, the amount of the fee was $300.
Examination
After applying, candidates for ARMRIT certification register to take the necessary credentialing examination. The examination consists of 240 multiple-choice, true-false and matching questions, and lasts for up to four hours. Three sections of 80 questions comprise the test. Topics for the sections are physics, clinical applications and safety and patient care. Candidates take the test using a computer at PSI professional testing centers, of which more than 1,000 are located across the United States.
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