RT Grads Achieve 100 Percent Certification Examination Pass Rate
The Diagnostic Radiologic Technology (RT) program sponsored by the Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CONHS) in Cape Girardeau, Missouri has once again achieved a one-hundred percent pass rate for first time test takers on the national certification examination offered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. The national average pass rate for this examination by first time test takers was 89.3, significantly lower than the College's 100% pass rate, illustrating the effectiveness of the preparation of CONHS's graduates when measured against their peers nationwide.
CONHS's 2017 graduates also outscored their peers throughout the country in all of the eight content areas of the examination (Patient Interactions and Management, Radiation Physics and Radiobiology, Radiation Protection, Image Acquisition and Technical Evaluation, Equipment Operation and Quality Assurance, Head, Spine, and Pelvis Procedures, Thorax and Abdomen Procedures as well as Extremity Procedures.) The average scaled score achieved by CONHS's graduates in 2017 was 90.4, while the national average score was 83.6
Preliminary numbers for CONHS's 2018 RT graduates are also strong. Although national comparison data will not be available for this class until January 2019, CONHS's 2018 RT graduates have so far scored as high as the 98th percentile in selected content areas of the examination. CONHS's 2018 RT graduates may also boast of a 100% pass rate with exceptional performance in all eight content areas. The average certification score for the College's 2018 cohort was 88, compared to the 2017 national average score of 83.6.
RT graduates of the Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences are not only well prepared by their educational experiences, they also enjoy strong job prospects with all job seeking graduates finding meaningful employment in their chosen health care fields. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall employment of radiologic and MRI technologists is projected to grow 13 percent from 2016 to 2026, faster than the average for all occupations. As the population grows older, there will be an increase in medical conditions that require imaging as a tool for making diagnoses.