Who says there's no money to be made being a video-game enthusiast?
Certainly not the 16 students now learning their trade in the College of Caledonia's medical radiography technology program (RTP).
Their state-of-the-art $2.7 million teaching laboratory on the third floor of the CNC campus comes equipped with a virtual reality system that allows the students to learn how to perform X-ray imaging, much like an airline pilot learns how to fly with a flight simulator.
The software gives students control of virtual patient, called an avatar, in a simulated X-ray room, without the danger associated with exposure to ionizing radiation. By changing the body position of the avatar or moving the instrument that produces the virtual X-ray beam, students can simulate what they will encounter once they start working on live patients in a clinical medical lab or hospital.
Students can manipulate the controls to change their point of view of the room and they can move the examining table. The simulator can be assessed at two stations and is available to the students after hours without instructor supervision. The simulator produces an image that looks exactly like that of a real X-ray.
"It works really well as an educational tool because students are able to turn this avatar five degrees and they can understand what the difference is and what's happening with the anatomy," said CNC clinical supervisor/instructor Mira Rosche. "They can X-ray any part of the avatar's body and obtain a comparable image. Oftentimes, with this younger generation, the students can really interact with these video simulations. It's pretty exciting."
The CNC radiography lab opened in September with three X-ray suites. Two of them use computer radiography that require cassettes to produce the images. One is equipped with a state-of-the-art digital radiography unit that uses built-in sensors to produce the image electronically.
The lab has a new developing system for computer radiography as well as older equipment donated to the college from the Northern Health Authority, which will familiarize the students with the types of equipment they are most likely to encounter when they join the workforce. Graduates of the two-year program will be nationally-certified, qualified to work as radiographers anywhere in Canada.
"This is the latest technology, said Leanne Evanow the RTP program co-ordinator. "The students will have a well-rounded education. They will get to see quite a lot before we send them out into clinical sites."
Students use body phantoms, life-sized models of parts of the body or full-body replicas or real person that weigh 100 pounds. The students practice body positioning on themselves, but use the phantoms when taking X-rays.
X-rays the students produce are projected on two large-screen monitors so they can learn from mistakes of their classmates as they wait for their own images to be developed.
Instructor work stations provide access to a teaching video library produced by CNC's information technology department, which helps students learn how to position patients for X-ray imaging.
The province will provide $591,000 in annual funding to support the program.
The program is pricey for students, with tuition fees running close to $18,000 for the two years (24 consecutive months) of study. To help defray those costs through scholarships and bursaries, CNC helped launch the Dr. Chong Lim Endowment Fund, named after Lim, who has worked as a radiologist in Prince George for 46 years.
CNC hosted a fundraiser Wednesday, which resulted in $21,000 in donations to go along with the $50,000 worth of stocks Lim donated. The goal is is to reach $100,000. Donors can go to www.cnc.bc.ca for more information.
