Clinical Experience
Clinical and didactic education take place in an integrated and sequenced manner throughout the length of the program.
During the first semester of the program, students will receive instruction that includes basic knowledge in patient care skills, the field of radiology, medical terminology, patient positioning, and fundamentals of radiographic equipment and radiation protection.
Education in the hospital/clinic setting also begins at the start of the first semester (approximately 16 hours per week), so that instruction in the classroom is reinforced in the clinical setting. The number of clinical hours in the first two semesters is less than those of subsequent semesters/terms.
In the second year of the program, students will be assigned to and rotate to different clinical education centers (for approximately 24 hours a week). Throughout the rest of the program, students (under the direct supervision of a qualified radiologic technologist) will position patients, make exposures, and perform all other duties in a radiology department based on competency and measured performance outcomes.
Students rotate through both clinic affiliate education centers and hospital affiliate clinical education centers. Rotations will be assigned by the clinical coordinator with approval of the program director. Clinical education rotations are directly related to didactic instruction which may include all or some of the following: positioning skills, radiographic principles, radiation physics, radiation protection, special procedures, image processing, and office procedures.
Printed objectives, activities, evaluation criteria, and handbooks are available to each student, clinical instructor, and staff member. The clinical coordinator is responsible for the supervision of students' activities in clinical education centers with the assistance of the clinical instructors.
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Clinical Sites
We're proud to partner with a variety of prestigious medical institutions in the Monterey Bay area and adjacent counties. In the list below, please note mileage from Cabrillo College campus in parentheses.
Sutter Health - Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz (3.2 miles)
Palo Alto Medical Foundation (4.3 miles)
Dignity Health Dominican Hospital (3.5 miles)
Radiology Medical Group of Santa Cruz County (3.4 miles)
Golden State Orthopedics and Spine (3.5 miles)
Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (38.4 miles)
Monterey Spine & Joint (39.7 miles)
Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System (32.1 miles)
Natividad (32.5 miles)
Watsonville Community Hospital (9.6 miles)
Kaiser Permanente San Jose (36.6 miles)
Good Samaritan Hospital (28.1 miles)
Compliance
To serve in a clinical setting many requirements must be met in order to protect your safety, the safety of your peers, and the safety of the patients with whom you'll be working.
The program has additional clinical compliance requirements because students are placed into affiliated hospitals/clinics for clinical education. Students must also comply with the Minimum Physical and Non-Physical Standards that are necessary for clinical placement.
To comply with State and local regulations for health care providers, students accepted to the Cabrillo College Radiologic Technology Program are required to meet vaccination and drug testing requirements and provide documentation before enrolling in the program. Students are also required to complete criminal background checks and may be required to undergo fingerprinting. The licensing/certification agency for Radiologic Technologists, the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) has a process and procedure for ethics review. Prospective students with ethics concerns including, criminal background, previous dismissal from a Radiologic Technology Program, or revocation of any certificate or license, should contact the ARRT directly for advice.
After students are accepted to the program, there is a mandatory Clinical Compliance Meeting scheduled with the Clinical Compliance Coordinator. Details about requirements and the timeline to complete them are provided.
Students cannot enter the clinical site unless they are compliant. Students are expected to be aware of all program and personal compliance deadlines. Failure to be compliant will result in the student being prohibited from the clinical setting with consequences that range from lowering clinical grades to program dismissal if compliance is not met.
For a complete listing of compliance requirements, see the Clinical Compliance Website.
Transferring to a 4-year University
If you are interested in transferring to a 4-year university in Radiologic Technology after program completion, please see a counselor or check the ASSIST online student-transfer system for more information.
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