ARMRiT MRI certificate scam

granit2006 · Joined: 30 Aug 2008 Posts: 4 Location: il

Recently in my area(Illinois) few MRI schools were opened. they train you on their own MRI mashines and promise national certificate just in one year, no prior radilology cert required. they say are accredited by some ARMRIT organization. but when i called hospitals (last week), imaging centers, and small clinics (about 50 total) they all say they will not hire you with that certificate. all of them want legitimate ARRT MRI with two year associate as a RT. do you think that these shools are running scam? it cost from 15 to 22 thousand US dollars to get certificate and you may never find a job. i think they misleading people
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joelc · Joined: 13 Feb 2009 Posts: 3 Location: Chicago, IL

ARMRIT certification is a legitimate pathway even though it is not largely acknowledged by the ARRT community. In July 2008, the ACR (American College of Radiology) accepted ARMRIT certification as meeting its MRI Accreditation Guidelines. This means that ACR-accredited hospitals and independent MRI centers can legitimately employ ARMRIT-certified techs.

Prior to the ACR's acceptance, ARMRIT-certified techs have been employed primarily by independent MRI facilities and a limited number of hospitals. ARMRIT techs are employed as lead techs throughout the nation and are involved in cross-training RTs while on the job. Right here in Illinois ARMRIT techs are employed primarily in independent MRI centers and government hospitals. And now other hospitals are including ARMRIT certification in their job postings as human resources managers are becoming more aware of ACR's new MRI Accreditation Guidelines.

For the past few years Medicare in Illinois as well as Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, requires that MRI technologists be either ARRT (MRI) or ARMRIT certified. The Veterans Administration also recognizes ARMRIT certification for employment in their hospitals and centers, providing GI Bill reimbursement.

All these years students have been forced to first become X-ray techs (RTs) before they can enter the MRI field, even though they didn't want radiation exposure. Does that mean ARRT has been a monopoly or "scamming" all these years, only to recently reconsider to offer certification to non-RTs? (Hmmm....)

RTs completing ARRT's traditional 3-4-year MRI pathway are required to complete fewer clinical hours than MRI techs training for ARMRIT certification. ARMRIT requires that its technologists complete 1000 documented clinical hours, which must include observed or performed live MRI scans. Apparently ARRT accepts "simulated" hours which can include watching videos as well.

If you do a state-specific Google search e.g. "ARMRIT <state>" you will find job postings that accept ARMRIT certification. This will only increase as human resource managers in hospitals and other ACR-accredited facilities become aware of ACR's new MRI Accreditation Guidelines. Knowledge is power.

hjhogle · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 9:54 am Post subject:

thatafu · Joined: 19 Apr 2009 Posts: 1

listen people...i went through an ARMRIT program.....trust me this is not what you want.. and trust me the people that support the discussions on the ARMRIT are people direcly involved in some kind of stakes with the ARMRIT schools.. they make a fortune out of this. if you go to a traditional ARRT programme .. your total cost might be just about $4 -5000 . these ARMRIT progams charge you about $15, 000.. and don't teach you s***.i saw someone who said ARMRIT techs have 1000 hours of clinical training. let me describe this 1000 hours...it includes the time u sit idle in their lunch room. i don't know how much of that is related to MRI knowledge.hospitals barely cross train anymore... and if they do .. they makesure tahat the techs get adequate practice before they actually scan a patient....unlike in ARMRIT programs which take some one for example a taki driver who have no prior knowledge in medical field.. and convert them into ARI techs .. by sitting idle in lunch rooms and seeing or may be doing the same exams(for ex. brain)many times and have no practice or knowledge on any other exams.. and still let them to pass their boards .. because they spent 1000 hours doing what ever.... enen the things that have nothing to do with MRI... and let me tell you a lot of these ARMRIT schools mwant to produce their techs like chicken laying eggs...so they forse their clinical sites and their registered technologists to sign off the 1000 hours even if they completed only 500 hours... which include the lunch room hours....now on the other hand ARRT requires their studens to be proficient in 120 DIFFERENT type of exams... and if any one of those scans are not one of the exams that you get ofen at your clinical sites.. then they let you simulate and practice either on a phantom or another fellow student under direct supervision of the registered Technologist. SO WHAT EVER YOU DO PLEASE TRY TO AVOID BEING ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE MASS GUNNIEPIG CHCKEN PRODUCION OF THE ARMRIT SCHOOLS IN ILLINOIS!!!!!!!!

granit2006 · Joined: 30 Aug 2008 Posts: 4 Location: il

i am the one who started whole post... despite the fact that i was very sceptical about ARMRIT program i decided to enroll... i am currently midpoint on my clinicals. i am being trained by ARRT (MR) technologist on open unit, one to one ratio. i already know that i will gain enough skills to be fully prepared for the job, just simply because will have same skills as that technogist who train me... after trying my best, about 130 hours spent on training i was offer full time position at that site...

it is not all that bad, it is all depends who train you, and how much they willing to show you Very Happy

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drawmax · Joined: 30 Jun 2009 Posts: 1

granit2006 · Joined: 30 Aug 2008 Posts: 4 Location: il

i do want tell which one because i do not care about them. do your research, talk to shool reps and decide base on your perception. i tried to go to radiography shool first but despite great college gpa: 3.93 and 96 percentiles entry exam, was unable to get in. so i am where i am and its true that it would be easier to get hospital job with arrt, but i see that is slowly changing, i see more armrit techs with arrt working together in few hospitals in my area, i know one armrit that train rt's at local hosp., so give some time... but again, it would be waay easer with being rt first.
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