ABSTRACT
The first step is to determine the amount of staffing needed and the times or shifts that need to be covered.
Staffing ratios have been collected, but no optimal ratio can be projected. Accrediting agencies and payer entities also indirectly affect staffing through phrases like optimal patient care. Staffing is also one of the most expensive areas in an imaging department. Effects like burnout also have to be monitored. Historically there has been a cyclical nature of technologist shortages. This has varied by modality. Imaging technologist schools will turn out graduates no matter what the job market is, because they realize a profit from having students. Recent economic conditions have compelled many people to return to school for a different career. This has attracted many new students. Technology reduces the necessity of caregivers in some areas (clerical, film room) and increases the need in others (computer-driven areas like information technology, picture archiving and communication system [PACS], radiology information system [RIS], etc.). Relatively new modalities such as bone densitometry, positron emission tomography (PET), PET/computed tomography (CT), molecular imaging, and others require new caregiver training.
