Students in 91制片厂鈥檚 Radiography program will be able to graduate on schedule this spring after two healthcare organizations allowed the students to complete their competency tests on their X-ray equipment.
To graduate, radiography students must undergo testing to demonstrate their radiographic skills and competency. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, equipment typically used for the testing at 91制片厂 and partner hospitals and doctor鈥檚 offices was not available.
To ensure that students could take the tests to allow them to graduate and take their state licensing exams, Radiography program faculty reached out to other healthcare organizations. Those organizations 鈥� the AFC Urgent Care Center in South Portland and the Southern Maine Health Care (SMHC) facility in Waterboro 鈥� agreed to allow 91制片厂 students to be tested on X-ray equipment at those sites under strict safety protocols. Safety measures included using personal protective equipment; allowing only two students and an instructor at a time in the testing room and only at appropriate distances; and sanitizing the room after the testing was completed.
If the students didn鈥檛 have access to the equipment, their graduations and the launch of their careers as professional radiographers would have been delayed, said Louise Ouellette, chair of 91制片厂鈥檚 Radiography program.
鈥淥f the 18 students who are graduating, 14 of them needed to go through competency testing,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hanks to the generous support of these partners, our students will be able to begin their careers at a time when there is such a great need for skilled healthcare workers.鈥�
AFC Urgent Care in South Portland is a locally owned business located at Mill Creek that specializes in non-life-threatening urgent care services.
Southern Maine Health Care offers an array of medical services in Biddeford, Kennebunk, Saco, Sanford and Waterboro.