How to Become a Radiographer

The term radiographer refers to three slightly different roles: a medical radiographer, diagnostic radiographer, or therapeutic radiographer. Regardless of which kind of radiography you pursue, the role of the radiographer is to use medical equipment to either diagnose or treat patients who present with an illness or injury. Radiographers are highly qualified and experienced medical professionals who work in a hospital or clinical setting. If you enjoy working in people-facing roles where you help people and make a real difference in your community then the role of the radiographer could be the right choice for you.

Wondering how to find radiographer jobs or what radiographer salary you might earn? Here’s everything you need to know about how to become a radiographer:

What is a Radiographer?

Radiographers carry out x-rays, MRI scans and other imaging techniques to diagnose patients. Radiographers are highly trained medical professionals, and it is important that you have a keen eye for detail and an in-depth understanding of your craft to carry out this role, as a poorly read x-ray or another scan could result in a dangerous misdiagnosis. As a therapeutic radiographer, you are likely to be working with individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer. This can be an incredibly emotional experience and can make the role of a radiographer incredibly challenging, but it is also very rewarding. You can use your skills to help save lives.

Because of the huge number of skills that they possess, radiographers are currently in high demand in the UK. That means that this is a career path that provides job stability, as well as consistent employment opportunities. There are also plenty of opportunities for career progression and opportunities to specialise without your field.

As a radiographer, you will usually work within a hospital alongside other medical professionals. As you may be working with children and vulnerable adults you will need to pass enhanced background checks in order to perform this role. You may need to wear protective clothing on top of your hospital uniform when you are operating the radiography equipment.

Personal Qualities of a Radiographer

Like all medical professionals, you will need a particular set of skills and personal qualities if you want to be a successful radiographer. Those personal qualities include:

• Having an interest in or knowledge of medicine and medical procedures, or a strong interest in learning more about medicine
• A sensitive and understanding nature. Often when patients arrive in hospital, they are feeling nervous or in pain. As a radiographer, a part of your role will be to put your patients at ease and to treat them with empathy
• Being thorough with strong attention to detail. It is important that you can read diagnostic imagery and ensure that nothing is missed that may impact your patient’s wellbeing
• The ability to work well under pressure and to think clearly using logic and reasoning
• Good active listening skills and concentration skills: you should be able to both focus on the task at hand whilst also listening to your patients and understanding their needs
• Good technical ability including, but not limited to, the ability to use a computer and its main software packages with competence

What a Radiographer Does

The day-to-day tasks that you will carry out as part of your role will depend on whether you are a diagnostic radiographer or a therapeutic radiographer.

As a diagnostic radiographer, your role will involve:

• Taking x-rays, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) or other scans in order to produce high-quality images of the body
• Verifying the identity of your patient before you take any imaging and ensuring that all necessary preparations have been made before the examination takes place
• Looking at the images you have taken in order to screen for abnormalities, and identify and diagnose injury or disease
• You will create full reports of your findings and return these promptly to the specialist or physician who requested that the screenings were undertaken
• Maintain thorough records of each radiographic image that is taken, ensuring that these are analysed and attached to the patient’s file
• Positions patients correctly, whilst maintaining their comfort, and then operates x-ray, scanning or fluoroscopic equipment
• Taking part in surgical procedures such as biopsies, using your skills and imaging techniques to assist the surgeon in locating the best place to remove the tissue sample, for example

As a therapeutic radiographer, your role will involve:

• Planning and then administering treatment to your patients using x-rays and other radioactive sources
• Working alongside medical specialists to create comprehensive treatment plans for patients. This will commonly apply to patients with malignant tumours or tissue defects
• Verifying the identity of your patient before you begin any treatment and ensuring that all necessary preparations have been made before the procedure takes place
• Explain the treatment that you will be administering to the patient and work with that patient to manage any adverse side effects that they may experience
• Calculate the doses of radiation that should be administered to each patient and then map the volumes that are used in each treatment session
• Assessing and monitoring patients throughout the treatment process

How Much Does a Radiographer Earn?

As a qualified radiographer in the UK, you could work either for the National Health Service (NHS) or in private practice. There are more NHS positions available than private hospital positions, as the NHS is the largest single employer in the UK. The NHS agenda for change pay scale is both clear and transparent, meaning that it is easy and straightforward to understand what your salary potential within the organisation might be.

As a newly qualified radiographer, you would start your career at pay band 5. The starting salary for this pay band is £25,655. With between two and four years experience in the role, your salary would increase to £27,780, whilst with more than four years experience you can command £31,534 per annum. Once you are an experienced radiographer, you will move up to pay band 6. The starting salary in this band is £32,306, whilst with between two and five years’ experience you can earn £34,172, and with more than five years’ experience you can earn £39,027. As an advanced practitioner, or if you move into a management role, your salary potential will be between £38,890 and £51,668 (Bands 7 to 8a) and at consultant level, you have the potential to earn even more than this.

If you live in London or the South of England, you may be entitled to increase financial compensation due to living costs. Other benefits of working for the NHS include a generous pension scheme and holiday pay, on-call allowances and overtime payments on top of your basic salary.

Qualifications Needed for a Radiographer

To become a fully qualified radiographer you will need to obtain degree-level qualifications, but there are several different routes you can take to reach this goal. You can either obtain your degree directly by attending a university course (this is the fastest route to becoming fully qualified), you can learn the skills required for this role and earn your qualifications via an apprenticeship, or you can work towards the role by working in an entry-level position within a hospital environment.

Degree
It’s important to note that you cannot work as a radiographer within the UK unless you are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. For this reason, when you are choosing your university course, you should ensure that the degree you select has been approved by this body. Generally, you must specialise and take a degree course in either diagnostic radiography or therapeutic radiography and the two specialisms are taught in different ways. If you’re not sure, why not gain some work experience in your local hospital’s radiography department to help you decide?

If you are already working as a health professional or have already completed a degree in a related subject, you could take a fast-track postgraduate qualification over two years to secure the qualification needed to work as a radiographer.

The qualifications you need to take this route are:

• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science
• 3 A levels, or equivalent. At least one of these should be in a science subject and some universities will ask that one is in maths. You should check this with the university you wish to apply to
• If you want to take a postgraduate course in radiography, then you will also need a degree in a relevant subject

Apprenticeship
It is possible to become a diagnostic radiographer or therapeutic radiographer by undertaking a degree-level apprenticeship. This will see you working within a radiography department and learning on the job whilst also undertaking academic study in an approved university as part of a day release scheme. You can expect to spend around 36 months (3 years) completing this apprenticeship, but it is also possible to complete this on a part-time basis over a longer period of time.

In order to secure a degree-level apprenticeship, you will need to have 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), at least one of which is in a science subject. You will also need to have A levels or equivalent.

Working Towards the Role

Jobs that could lead to a radiographer position include radiography assistant or radiography administrator. You can enter these positions without already having secured a degree and can then use the knowledge and skills you learn to work your way up to an assistant practitioner position.  At this level, your employer may give you the opportunity to work and study part-time for a degree and a professional qualification to become a radiographer, whilst maintaining your employment and therefore your income.

On-the-Job Training

Once you are a fully qualified radiographer, your learning and training opportunities don’t stop. Continued professional development (CPD) is essential for retaining competence and keeping up to date on the most current medical imaging and radiation therapy practice. CPD will add to your existing knowledge base and skill sets to ensure that you remain up to date with the latest radiography technology and techniques. If you cannot use the most cutting-edge equipment to support your patients and work alongside doctors in locations from operating theatres to accident and emergency rooms, then your skills will become obsolete. CPD for radiographers can be divided into four main categories. These are:

• Work-based learning. Examples of work-based learning are working alongside a mentor, being a member of a committee that focuses on your specialism, and spending time analysing the feedback that is given to you from your service users
• Professional activity. Examples of professional activity include being involved in a professional body or giving a presentation at a conference. You could also write reports or papers for professional journals within your field
• Formal education. Examples of formal education include going on formal courses, carrying out research, or undertaking advanced degrees to develop your radiography skills
• Self-directed learning. Self-directed learning is perhaps the simplest form of CPD and involves tasks such as reading articles or books to improve your industry knowledge

Professional Bodies

The Society of Radiographers (SoR) is a professional body that advocates for radiography professionals at the heart of patient care. If you’re considering becoming a radiographer, then joining a body of professionals that represents your interests is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to the profession as well as a wonderful way to build relationships with other experts within your specialism. You can join the SoR as a fully qualified radiographer, or as a student whilst you are undertaking your radiography degree or training.

Some of the benefits of joining the Society of Radiographers include access to professional body guidance and publications, access to continued professional development opportunities, and professional indemnity insurance. As a student member of the society, you can attend educational conferences and events, gain exclusive access to the student rep forum where you can build professional relationships with your peers, and watch specialist webinars and recorded lectures.