Two native radiographers, Latavia Ingham and Andresha Gardiner, have expanded their skillset and were recently trained and certified to perform mammography examinations.
Dawn Derenburger, Senior Consultant and Mammography Technologist at Mammography Educators, conducted the training. Derenburger is certified with the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) and has over 15 years of experience in mammography practice at many health care facilities.
The radiographers completed a four-week course offered by Mammography Educators, a company based in the United States. The topics covered techniques for human anatomy, physiology, physics of the breast, image quality, and correlative anatomy.
Derenburger traveled to the Turks and Caicos Islands to conduct the special handson training starting with a model, and she later introduced actual patients.
The hands-on training covered standardized positioning, which is a technique that has been found in scientific studies to generate a higher-quality image, capture more breast tissue, and is more comfortable for mammography patients. This approach is also more ergonomically sound for the radiographer. In addition, this technique further improves the consistency and efficiency of the image across patients as the angle of a patient affects the final image.
The department now has three radiographers certified in the standardized positioning technique for Mammography, including Kirsten Hale, who also completed the course as a refresher. There is also a fourth radiographer who specializes in Ultrasonography but is cross-trained in Mammography and serves as a backup.
Chief of Allied Services at TCI Hospital Eleanor Hall stated: ”This program was funded by the organization and is a strategic accomplishment for the health care facility. It provides the diagnostic imaging department with more scheduling flexibility, redundancy to cover periods of unexpected leave and improves continuity of the mammography service. In addition, we are committed to training and developing local talent within the health care sector, especially in fields with limited expertise in the domestic workforce. "