The vacancy rate for radiographers jumped from 4.2% in 2017 to 8.5% in 2019, according to a new survey published by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT). The biennial survey included feedback from more than 400 radiology department managers throughout the United States.
The survey results also show that the vacancy rate—the number of open positions being actively recruited—is up in numerous other disciplines. In mammography, for instance, the rate for technologists is up from 2.7% in 2017 to 5.6% in 2019. Bone densitometry, CT, sonography, MR and nuclear medicine all also saw jumps in their vacancy rates for technologists. Cardiovascular interventional technology was the one field that saw a drop in its vacancy rate, which was 8.7% in 2017 and 7.3% in 2019.
“This year saw an increase in the vacancy rates across most of the disciplines that we are tracking.” John Culbertson, ASRT director of research, said in a prepared statement. “However, caution should be taken when interpreting and generalizing this data as a sustained increase. The ASRT will conduct the survey again in 2021 to see if this is indeed a trend.”
The full report is available on the ASRT website.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.