November 26, 1998

Baffin students stay at home to learn x-ray skills

Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — Inuit students from around the Baffin region are learning to take x-rays of arms and legs, shoulder and hips regions and chest areas at local community health centres.

The basic radiography worker certificate program is offered jointly by Hamilton, Ontario-based Mohawk College and McMaster University, and 13 students have already passed through the first two phases of the course.

Students represent the various regions of Baffin, from Grise Fiord to Kimmirut. Among other skills, they've learned medical imaging terminology, human anatomy, x-ray physics, radiobiology and radiation protection.

The x-ray images they take are monitored for technical sufficiency by two x-ray technologists at the Baffin Regional Hospital in Iqaluit, said Des Barnes of the Department of Medical Imaging at Mohawk College.

In October, Barnes and his colleague, Leslie Marshall, visited several of the communities to reinforce what the students had previously learned and to provide further theoretical information. They also helped students do quality control programs for the x-ray machines.

Visits to all the students' communities are expected to be completed by February. Plans are also underway to provide the third and final phase of the program in late May, 1999.