- Plan the use of beam modifying devices, such as compensators, shields, and wedge filters, to ensure safe and effective delivery of radiation treatment.
Occupations with related tasks Save Table: XLSX CSV
- Set up, program, or record montages or electrical combinations when testing peripheral nerve, spinal cord, subcortical, or cortical responses.
- Adjust equipment to optimize viewing of the nervous system.
- Monitor patients during tests or surgeries, using electroencephalographs (EEG), evoked potential (EP) instruments, or video recording equipment.
- Conduct tests or studies such as electroencephalography (EEG), polysomnography (PSG), nerve conduction studies (NCS), electromyography (EMG), and intraoperative monitoring (IOM).
- Collect patients' medical information needed to customize tests.
- Explain testing procedures to patients, answering questions or reassuring patients, as needed.
- Summarize technical data to assist physicians to diagnose brain, sleep, or nervous system disorders.
- Conduct tests to determine cerebral death, the absence of brain activity, or the probability of recovery from a coma.
- Attach electrodes to patients, using adhesives.
- Measure patients' body parts and mark locations where electrodes are to be placed.
- Submit reports to physicians summarizing test results.
- Calibrate, troubleshoot, or repair equipment and correct malfunctions, as needed.
- Measure visual, auditory, or somatosensory evoked potentials (EPs) to determine responses to stimuli.
- Assist in training technicians, medical students, residents, or other staff members.
- Participate in research projects, conferences, or technical meetings.
- Indicate artifacts or interferences derived from sources outside of the brain, such as poor electrode contact or patient movement, on electroneurodiagnostic recordings.
- Set up, program, or record montages or electrical combinations when testing peripheral nerve, spinal cord, subcortical, or cortical responses.
- Adjust equipment to optimize viewing of the nervous system.
- Prepare patients for surgery, including positioning patients on the operating table and covering them with sterile surgical drapes to prevent exposure.
- Operate, assemble, adjust, or monitor sterilizers, lights, suction machines, or diagnostic equipment to ensure proper operation.
- Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures.
- Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation.
- Scrub arms and hands and assist the surgical team to scrub and put on gloves, masks, and surgical clothing.
- Provide technical assistance to surgeons, surgical nurses, or anesthesiologists.
- Hand instruments and supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors and cut sutures, and perform other tasks as directed by surgeon during operation.
- Prepare, care for, and dispose of tissue specimens taken for laboratory analysis.
- Wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers.
- Prepare dressings or bandages and apply or assist with their application following surgery.
- Clean and restock operating room, gathering and placing equipment and supplies and arranging instruments according to instructions, such as a preference card.
- Order surgical supplies.
- Observe patients' vital signs to assess physical condition.
- Maintain supply of fluids, such as plasma, saline, blood, or glucose, for use during operations.
- Maintain files and records of surgical procedures.
- Monitor and continually assess operating room conditions, including patient and surgical team needs.
- Prepare patients for surgery, including positioning patients on the operating table and covering them with sterile surgical drapes to prevent exposure.
- Operate, assemble, adjust, or monitor sterilizers, lights, suction machines, or diagnostic equipment to ensure proper operation.
- Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required.
- Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.
- Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort.
- Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis.
- Operate ultrasound equipment to produce and record images of the motion, shape, and composition of blood, organs, tissues, or bodily masses, such as fluid accumulations.
- Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas.
- Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly.
- Determine whether scope of exam should be extended, based on findings.
- Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations.
- Maintain records that include patient information, sonographs and interpretations, files of correspondence, publications and regulations, or quality assurance records, such as pathology, biopsy, or post-operative reports.
- Record and store suitable images, using camera unit connected to the ultrasound equipment.
- Coordinate work with physicians or other healthcare team members, including providing assistance during invasive procedures.
- Clean, check, and maintain sonographic equipment, submitting maintenance requests or performing minor repairs as necessary.
- Perform clerical duties, such as scheduling exams or special procedures, keeping records, or archiving computerized images.
- Supervise or train students or other medical sonographers.
- Perform medical procedures, such as administering oxygen, inserting and removing airways, taking vital signs, or giving emergency treatment, such as first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
- Maintain stock and supplies, preparing supplies for special examinations and ordering supplies when necessary.
- Process and code film from procedures and complete appropriate documentation.
- Load and unload film cassettes used to record images from procedures.
- Perform legal and ethical duties, including preparing safety or accident reports, obtaining written consent from patient to perform invasive procedures, or reporting symptoms of abuse or neglect.
- Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required.
- Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.
- Follow principles of radiation protection for patient, self, and others.
- Enter data into computer and set controls to operate or adjust equipment or regulate dosage.
- Position patients for treatment with accuracy, according to prescription.
- Administer prescribed doses of radiation to specific body parts, using radiation therapy equipment according to established practices and standards.
- Review prescription, diagnosis, patient chart, and identification.
- Check radiation therapy equipment to ensure proper operation.
- Observe and reassure patients during treatment and report unusual reactions to physician or turn equipment off if unexpected adverse reactions occur.
- Educate, prepare, and reassure patients and their families by answering questions, providing physical assistance, and reinforcing physicians' advice regarding treatment reactions or post-treatment care.
- Maintain records, reports, or files as required, including such information as radiation dosages, equipment settings, or patients' reactions.
- Check for side effects, such as skin irritation, nausea, or hair loss to assess patients' reaction to treatment.
- Prepare or construct equipment, such as immobilization, treatment, or protection devices.
- Help physicians, radiation oncologists, or clinical physicists to prepare physical or technical aspects of radiation treatment plans, using information about patient condition and anatomy.
- Calculate actual treatment dosages delivered during each session.
- Photograph treated area of patient and process film.
- Act as liaison with physicist and supportive care personnel.
- Schedule patients for treatment times.
- Provide assistance to other healthcare personnel during dosimetry procedures and tumor localization.
- Train or supervise student or subordinate radiotherapy technologists.
- Store, sterilize, or prepare the special applicators containing the radioactive substance implanted by the physician.
- Assist in the preparation of sealed radioactive materials, such as cobalt, radium, cesium, or isotopes, for use in radiation treatments.
- Conduct most treatment sessions independently, in accordance with the long-term treatment plan and under the general direction of the patient's physician.
- Implement appropriate follow-up care plans.
- Follow principles of radiation protection for patient, self, and others.
- Enter data into computer and set controls to operate or adjust equipment or regulate dosage.
- Position imaging equipment and adjust controls to set exposure time and distance, according to specification of examination.
- Position patient on examining table and set up and adjust equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area as requested by physician.
- Monitor patients' conditions and reactions, reporting abnormal signs to physician.
- Explain procedures and observe patients to ensure safety and comfort during scan.
- Use radiation safety measures and protection devices to comply with government regulations and to ensure safety of patients and staff.
- Review and evaluate developed x-rays, video tape, or computer-generated information to determine if images are satisfactory for diagnostic purposes.
- Determine patients' x-ray needs by reading requests or instructions from physicians.
- Prepare contrast material, radiopharmaceuticals, or anesthetic or antispasmodic drugs under the direction of a radiologist.
- Process exposed radiographs using film processors or computer generated methods.
- Operate mobile x-ray equipment in operating room, emergency room, or at patient's bedside.
- Make exposures necessary for the requested procedures, rejecting and repeating work that does not meet established standards.
- Operate or oversee operation of radiologic or magnetic imaging equipment to produce images of the body for diagnostic purposes.
- Operate digital picture archiving communications systems.
- Perform procedures, such as linear tomography, mammography, sonograms, joint and cyst aspirations, routine contrast studies, routine fluoroscopy, or examinations of the head, trunk, or extremities under supervision of physician.
- Provide assistance to physicians or other technologists in the performance of more complex procedures.
- Record, process, and maintain patient data or treatment records and prepare reports.
- Take thorough and accurate patient medical histories.
- Key commands and data into computer to document and specify scan sequences, adjust transmitters and receivers, or photograph certain images.
- Operate fluoroscope to aid physician to view and guide wire or catheter through blood vessels to area of interest.
- Set up examination rooms, ensuring that all necessary equipment is ready.
- Transport patients to or from exam rooms.
- Assist with on-the-job training of new employees or students or provide input to supervisors regarding training performance.
- Maintain a current file of examination protocols.
- Perform general administrative tasks, such as answering phones, scheduling patient appointments, or pulling and filing films.
- Complete quality control activities, monitor equipment operation, and report malfunctioning equipment to supervisor.
- Assign duties to radiologic staff to maintain patient flows and achieve production goals.
- Provide assistance in dressing or changing seriously ill, injured, or disabled patients.
- Coordinate work with clerical personnel or other technologists and technicians.
- Perform supervisory duties, such as developing departmental operating budget, coordinating purchases of supplies or equipment, or preparing work schedules.
- Provide students or other technicians and technologists with suggestions of additional views, alternate positioning, or improved techniques to ensure the images produced are of the highest quality.
- Position imaging equipment and adjust controls to set exposure time and distance, according to specification of examination.
- Position patient on examining table and set up and adjust equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area as requested by physician.
- Position radiation fields, radiation beams, and patient to allow for most effective treatment of patient's disease, using computer.
- Prepare stock radiopharmaceuticals, adhering to safety standards that minimize radiation exposure to workers and patients.
- Dispose of radioactive materials and store radiopharmaceuticals, following radiation safety procedures.
- Administer radiopharmaceuticals or radiation intravenously to detect or treat diseases, using radioisotope equipment, under direction of a physician.
- Detect and map radiopharmaceuticals in patients' bodies, using a camera to produce photographic or computer images.
- Process cardiac function studies, using computer.
- Calculate, measure, and record radiation dosage or radiopharmaceuticals received, used, and disposed, using computer and following physician's prescription.
- Record and process results of procedures.
- Produce a computer-generated or film image for interpretation by a physician.
- Explain test procedures and safety precautions to patients and provide them with assistance during test procedures.
- Perform quality control checks on laboratory equipment or cameras.
- Gather information on patients' illnesses and medical history to guide the choice of diagnostic procedures for therapy.
- Maintain and calibrate radioisotope and laboratory equipment.
- Measure glandular activity, blood volume, red cell survival, or radioactivity of patient, using scanners, Geiger counters, scintillometers, or other laboratory equipment.
- Train or supervise student or subordinate nuclear medicine technologists.
- Add radioactive substances to biological specimens, such as blood, urine, or feces, to determine therapeutic drug or hormone levels.
- Develop treatment procedures for nuclear medicine treatment programs.
- Position radiation fields, radiation beams, and patient to allow for most effective treatment of patient's disease, using computer.
- Prepare stock radiopharmaceuticals, adhering to safety standards that minimize radiation exposure to workers and patients.
- Dispose of radioactive materials and store radiopharmaceuticals, following radiation safety procedures.
- Adjust, maintain, or repair laboratory equipment, such as microscopes.
- Maintain effective laboratory operations by adhering to standards of specimen collection, preparation, or laboratory safety.
- Examine cell samples to detect abnormalities in the color, shape, or size of cellular components and patterns.
- Document specimens by verifying patients' and specimens' information.
- Submit slides with abnormal cell structures to pathologists for further examination.
- Prepare and analyze samples, such as Papanicolaou (PAP) smear body fluids and fine needle aspirations (FNAs), to detect abnormal conditions.
- Examine specimens, using microscopes, to evaluate specimen quality.
- Provide patient clinical data or microscopic findings to assist pathologists in the preparation of pathology reports.
- Assist pathologists or other physicians to collect cell samples by fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy or other method.
- Prepare cell samples by applying special staining techniques, such as chromosomal staining, to differentiate cells or cell components.
- Assign tasks or coordinate task assignments to ensure adequate performance of laboratory activities.
- Attend continuing education programs that address laboratory issues.
- Examine specimens to detect abnormal hormone conditions.
- Adjust, maintain, or repair laboratory equipment, such as microscopes.
- Maintain effective laboratory operations by adhering to standards of specimen collection, preparation, or laboratory safety.
- Control anesthesia levels during procedures.
- Provide airway management interventions including tracheal intubation, fiber optics, or ventilary support.
- Respond to emergency situations by providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), basic cardiac life support (BLS), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), or pediatric advanced life support (PALS).
- Verify availability of operating room supplies, medications, and gases.
- Pretest and calibrate anesthesia delivery systems and monitors.
- Participate in seminars, workshops, or other professional activities to keep abreast of developments in anesthesiology.
- Assist anesthesiologists in monitoring of patients, including electrocardiogram (EKG), direct arterial pressure, central venous pressure, arterial blood gas, hematocrit, or routine measurement of temperature, respiration, blood pressure or heart rate.
- Administer blood, blood products, or supportive fluids.
- Collect and document patients' pre-anesthetic health histories.
- Assist in the provision of advanced life support techniques including those procedures using high frequency ventilation or intra-arterial cardiovascular assistance devices.
- Monitor and document patients' progress during post-anesthesia period.
- Administer anesthetic, adjuvant, or accessory drugs under the direction of an anesthesiologist.
- Assist anesthesiologists in performing anesthetic procedures, such as epidural or spinal injections.
- Provide clinical instruction, supervision or training to staff in areas such as anesthesia practices.
- Assist in the application of monitoring techniques, such as pulmonary artery catheterization, electroencephalographic spectral analysis, echocardiography, or evoked potentials.
- Collect samples or specimens for diagnostic testing.
- Control anesthesia levels during procedures.
- Use masks, gloves, and safety glasses to protect patients and self from infectious diseases.
- Examine teeth, gums, and related tissues, using dental instruments, x-rays, or other diagnostic equipment, to evaluate dental health, diagnose diseases or abnormalities, and plan appropriate treatments.
- Administer anesthetics to limit the amount of pain experienced by patients during procedures.
- Use dental air turbines, hand instruments, dental appliances, or surgical implements.
- Formulate plan of treatment for patient's teeth and mouth tissue.
- Diagnose and treat diseases, injuries, or malformations of teeth, gums, or related oral structures and provide preventive or corrective services.
- Write prescriptions for antibiotics or other medications.
- Advise or instruct patients regarding preventive dental care, the causes and treatment of dental problems, or oral health care services.
- Design, make, or fit prosthodontic appliances, such as space maintainers, bridges, or dentures, or write fabrication instructions or prescriptions for denturists or dental technicians.
- Fill pulp chamber and canal with endodontic materials.
- Treat exposure of pulp by pulp capping, removal of pulp from pulp chamber, or root canal, using dental instruments.
- Remove diseased tissue, using surgical instruments.
- Manage business aspects such as employing or supervising staff or handling paperwork or insurance claims.
- Analyze or evaluate dental needs to determine changes or trends in patterns of dental disease.
- Apply fluoride or sealants to teeth.
- Eliminate irritating margins of fillings and correct occlusions, using dental instruments.
- Perform oral or periodontal surgery on the jaw or mouth.
- Plan, organize, or maintain dental health programs.
- Bleach, clean, or polish teeth to restore natural color.
- Produce or evaluate dental health educational materials.
- Use masks, gloves, and safety glasses to protect patients and self from infectious diseases.
- Perform pulmonary function and adjust equipment to obtain optimum results in therapy.
- Provide emergency care, such as artificial respiration, external cardiac massage, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
- Monitor patient's physiological responses to therapy, such as vital signs, arterial blood gases, or blood chemistry changes, and consult with physician if adverse reactions occur.
- Set up and operate devices, such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment.
- Work as part of a team of physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals to manage patient care by assisting with medical procedures or related duties.
- Maintain charts that contain patients' pertinent identification and therapy information.
- Read prescription, measure arterial blood gases, and review patient information to assess patient condition.
- Relay blood analysis results to a physician.
- Inspect, clean, test, and maintain respiratory therapy equipment to ensure equipment is functioning safely and efficiently, ordering repairs when necessary.
- Explain treatment procedures to patients to gain cooperation and allay fears.
- Make emergency visits to resolve equipment problems.
- Determine requirements for treatment, such as type, method and duration of therapy, precautions to be taken, or medication and dosages, compatible with physicians' orders.
- Enforce safety rules and ensure careful adherence to physicians' orders.
- Educate patients and their families about their conditions and teach appropriate disease management techniques, such as breathing exercises or the use of medications or respiratory equipment.
- Perform bronchopulmonary drainage and assist or instruct patients in performance of breathing exercises.
- Conduct tests, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), stress testing, or lung capacity tests, to evaluate patients' cardiopulmonary functions.
- Demonstrate respiratory care procedures to trainees or other healthcare personnel.
- Use a variety of testing techniques to assist doctors in cardiac or pulmonary research or to diagnose disorders.
- Transport patients to the hospital or within the hospital.
- Teach, train, supervise, or use the assistance of students, respiratory therapy technicians, or assistants.
- Perform endotracheal intubation to maintain open airways for patients who are unable to breathe on their own.
- Monitor cardiac patients, using electrocardiography devices, such as a holter monitor.
- Perform pulmonary function and adjust equipment to obtain optimum results in therapy.
- Adjust equipment and controls according to physicians' orders or established protocol.
- Conduct electrocardiogram (EKG), phonocardiogram, echocardiogram, stress testing, or other cardiovascular tests to record patients' cardiac activity, using specialized electronic test equipment, recording devices, or laboratory instruments.
- Explain testing procedures to patients to obtain cooperation and reduce anxiety.
- Monitor patients' blood pressure and heart rate using electrocardiogram (EKG) equipment during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures to notify the physician if something appears wrong.
- Obtain and record patient identification, medical history, or test results.
- Monitor patients' comfort and safety during tests, alerting physicians to abnormalities or changes in patient responses.
- Prepare and position patients for testing.
- Attach electrodes to the patients' chests, arms, and legs, connect electrodes to leads from the electrocardiogram (EKG) machine, and operate the EKG machine to obtain a reading.
- Check, test, and maintain cardiology equipment, making minor repairs when necessary, to ensure proper operation.
- Supervise or train other cardiology technologists or students.
- Compare measurements of heart wall thickness and chamber sizes to standard norms to identify abnormalities.
- Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures.
- Observe ultrasound display screen and listen to signals to record vascular information, such as blood pressure, limb volume changes, oxygen saturation, or cerebral circulation.
- Assist surgeons with vascular procedures, such as preparing balloons and stents.
- Assist physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac or peripheral vascular treatments, such as implanting pacemakers or assisting with balloon angioplasties to treat blood vessel blockages.
- Assess cardiac physiology and calculate valve areas from blood flow velocity measurements.
- Operate diagnostic imaging equipment to produce contrast enhanced radiographs of heart and cardiovascular system.
- Observe gauges, recorder, and video screens of data analysis system during imaging of cardiovascular system.
- Inject contrast medium into patients' blood vessels.
- Transcribe, type, and distribute reports of diagnostic procedures for interpretation by physician.
- Enter factors, such as amount and quality of radiation beam, and filming sequence, into computer.
- Conduct tests of pulmonary system, using spirometer or other respiratory testing equipment.
- Activate fluoroscope and camera to produce images used to guide catheter through cardiovascular system.
- Set up 24-hour Holter and event monitors, scan and interpret tapes, and report results to physicians.
- Perform general administrative tasks, such as scheduling appointments or ordering supplies or equipment.
- Adjust equipment and controls according to physicians' orders or established protocol.
- Supply, operate, or maintain personal protective equipment.
- Test workplaces for environmental hazards, such as exposure to radiation, chemical or biological hazards, or excessive noise.
- Prepare or calibrate equipment used to collect or analyze samples.
- Maintain all required environmental records and documentation.
- Prepare or review specifications or orders for the purchase of safety equipment, ensuring that proper features are present and that items conform to health and safety standards.
- Conduct worker studies to determine whether specific instances of disease or illness are job-related.
- Recommend corrective measures to be applied based on results of environmental contaminant analyses.
- Verify availability or monitor use of safety equipment, such as hearing protection or respirators.
- Review records or reports concerning laboratory results, staffing, floor plans, fire inspections, or sanitation to gather information for the development or enforcement of safety activities.
- Evaluate situations or make determinations when a worker has refused to work on the grounds that danger or potential harm exists.
- Inspect fire suppression systems or portable fire systems to ensure proper working order.
- Train workers in safety procedures related to green jobs, such as the use of fall protection devices or maintenance of proper ventilation during wind turbine construction.
- Plan emergency response drills.
- Prepare documents to be used in legal proceedings, testifying in such proceedings when necessary.
- Provide consultation to organizations or agencies on the workplace application of safety principles, practices, or techniques.
- Educate the public about health issues or enforce health legislation to prevent disease, to promote health, or to help people understand health protection procedures and regulations.
- Test or balance newly installed HVAC systems to determine whether indoor air quality standards are met.
- Examine credentials, licenses, or permits to ensure compliance with licensing requirements.
- Maintain logbooks of daily activities, including areas visited or activities performed.
- Collect data regarding potential hazards from new equipment or products linked to green practices.
- Confer with schools, state authorities, or community groups to develop health standards or programs.
- Collect data related to ecological or human health risks at brownfield sites.
- Perform tests to identify any potential hazards related to recycled products used at green building sites.
- Examine practices at green building sites to determine whether adherence to green building standards alters risks to workers.
- Help direct rescue or firefighting operations in the event of a fire or an explosion.
- Conduct interviews to obtain information or evidence regarding communicable diseases or violations of health or sanitation regulations.
- Supply, operate, or maintain personal protective equipment.
- Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment.
- Verify the identity of patient or operative site.
- Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
- Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.
- Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
- Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings.
- Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers.
- Discuss with surgeon the nature of the surgical procedure, including operative consent, methods of operative exposure, diagnostic or laboratory data, or patient-advanced directives or other needs.
- Determine availability of necessary equipment or supplies for operative procedures.
- Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment.
- Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events.
- Obtain or inspect sterile or non-sterile surgical equipment, instruments, or supplies.
- Operate sterilizing devices.
- Pass instruments or supplies to surgeon during procedure.
- Monitor patient intra-operative status, including patient position, vital signs, or volume and color of blood.
- Assist in the insertion, positioning, or suturing of closed-wound drainage systems.
- Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving.
- Gather, arrange, or assemble instruments or supplies.
- Coordinate with anesthesia personnel to maintain patient temperature.
- Assist in applying casts, splints, braces, or similar devices.
- Transport patients to operating room.
- Remove patient hair or disinfect incision sites to prepare patient for surgery.
- Incise tissue layers in lower extremities to harvest veins.
- Postoperatively inject a subcutaneous local anesthetic agent to reduce pain.
- Insert or remove urinary bladder catheters.
- Assist in volume replacement or autotransfusion techniques.
- Assess skin integrity or other body conditions upon completion of the procedure to determine if damage has occurred from body positioning.
- Adjust and maintain operating room temperature, humidity, or lighting, according to surgeon's specifications.
- Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment.
