ARRT Rules
Radiologic Technology
American Registry of Radiologic Technologist Rules of Ethics:
There are mandatory standards on acceptable professional conduct for all current registered technologists and candidates. Please go to the ARRT website at http://www.arrt.org/ for detailed information.
Student Pregnancy Policy
Since ionizing radiation has been determined to be harmful to the developing embryo/fetus, the following compliance is required to protect the health of the student and child.
The pregnant student may elect to notify the Program Director and/or Clinical Coordinator of the pregnancy. Once the pregnancy is declared, a conference will be held with the Program Director and/or Radiation Safety Officer to review radiation risks, dose limit guidelines, and the cardinal principles of radiation protection. The pregnant student will be administered a fetal badge. This badge will be worn at the waist with or without an apron. All students must meet the same clinical requirements for graduation; however, scheduling of clinical activities involving fluoroscopy, C-Arms, and portables may be rearranged as possible to accommodate minimal radiation exposure to the fetus. The pregnant student must maintain as much distance between the radiation source and her person as practical and remain well behind the control booth during radiographic exposures when possible. During fluoroscopy, portables, surgical procedures, and special procedures, the pregnant student must wear a 0.5 mm Pb equivalent apron. Under no circumstances will the pregnant student be allowed to hold patients during x-ray exposure.
The recommendations of the National Council on Radiation Protection Report #116 states that a dose to the fetus from occupational exposure of the pregnant mother shall not exceed .05 rem per month or 50 mrem for the entire gestational period.
The student may request a leave of absence when she, the physician, or the Program Director believes that it is no longer viable for her to function in a manner conducive to learning. The return of the student must be approved by her physician. Students seeking to resume coursework will meet with the Program Director and didactic faculty; decisions will be based on individual circumstances. After re-admission, the student will be rescheduled for missed class work and clinical hours with the Clinical Coordinator.
The student will be informed of her options with regard to this policy prior to enrolling and again during program orientation.
Option I:
The student has the right to make voluntary disclosure that she is pregnant and she has the right to modify training.
Option II:
Once the pregnancy is declared, the student may elect not to have any modification made to her training.
Option III:
The student may elect to take a leave of absence from the radiologic technology program and return within 1 year after re-admission and not lose her status in the program. The student must inform the program of her scheduled return so that the program can secure a seat for her.
Option IV:
The student may elect to continue in the radiologic technology program, fulfilling all program requirements as contained within the curriculum, and adhere to all radiation protection guidelines and recommendations as follows:
a) The student will be provided an additional film monitoring device to monitor exposure to the fetus.
b) The student will be required to adhere to the provisions of ALARA.
c) No more than 5 mSv (0.5 Rem or 500 mrem) of exposure is to be received by the student during the pregnancy.
d) The equivalent dose to the embryo-fetus in a month cannot exceed 0.5 mSv (.05 Rem or 50 mrem).
Option V:
The student may withdraw the declaration of pregnancy at any time. Refraction of the pregnancy declaration requires the student to abide by the general guidelines for radiation workers. Therefore, after pregnancy declaration refraction, the student will be monitored according to general guidelines for radiation workers as described by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and State Laws.
Option VI:
The student may choose not to declare the pregnancy to the program.
*The program will not be responsible for any injuries to the embryo/fetus should the student decide to remain in the program during the entire gestational period.
