ICCB Approves College's New CT Certificate Program

The Illinois Community College Board has approved College of DuPage's new Computed Tomography Certificate program, which will begin in the fall.

The 18-credit hour program will prepare students for the expanding CT medical imaging field. Students will receive hands-on instruction using the GE CT scanner that recently was donated to the College by Adventist Hinsdale Hospital, making COD the only community college in the nation to own this important piece of equipment.

“We had been looking at additional certificate possibilities in diagnostic medical imaging,” said Karen Solt, associate dean, Health and Biological Sciences. “When we acquired the scanner, we were also hearing about a need for professionals with an advanced CT education. So a combination of these two things prompted the development of the new certificate.”

ICCB already has approved the CT certificate program's six new courses: Sectional Anatomy and Pathology for Computed Tomography, Principles of Computed Tomography and Patient Care, Physics and Instrumentation, Radiation Safety and Quality Management, Clinical Applications I and Clinical Applications II.

Rosanne Paschal, Ph.D., professor of Diagnostic Medical Imaging programs, said the certificate will give students the necessary time to learn how to use this important piece of equipment properly before their clinical education begins in hospitals and medical imaging departments.

“The certificate is based on national certification requirements and national CT recommended curriculum with the utmost radiation safety in mind,” she said. “The theme running through the program is radiation safety and patient safety.”

The College's CT scanner, located in a classroom space that was generously renovated by the COD Foundation, will ease the burden on clinical sites, where employees are cross-trained using hospital scanners that are in near-constant use.

“We started hearing from our affiliated hospitals that they wanted CT technologists with a formal education, because their CTs are running 24 hours a day and it's a challenge give technologists the proper practical training,” Paschal said.

The College's new program will be an advanced certificate program. Before applying, prospective students must have an active certification in radiography from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists and be licensed in medial radiation by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. The College will start with 12 students per class with the goal to expand the number of accepted students, which depends upon the availability of clinical sites.

So far, Solt and Paschal have fielded numerous requests for information on the new program, particularly from past radiography students eager to add to their skills.

“We are really grateful to Adventist Hinsdale Hospital for this donation and the COD Foundation for building out the space so it could accommodate the scanner and adjacent classroom,” Solt said. “We also were able to secure Perkins funding to defray the cost of additional equipment and teaching materials. So we are ahead of the game in terms of both the new program and the required classroom equipment.”

For more information, call (630) 942-8331 or e-mail paschal@cod.edu.