Radiation Therapy Programs in Vermont

How to Become a Radiation Therapy in Vermont – Radiation Therapy Programs in Vermont

A very important person in the treatment of cancer patients is the radiation therapist. The radiation therapist is the one who gives the patient their radiation treatment as part of their treatment plan. Of course, there are other patients who get radiation therapy from time to time, but radiation therapists deal with mostly cancer patients. The radiation therapist will not only administer the correct dosing of radiation to the patient, but they are also responsible for inspecting and cleaning the equipment so that it works properly, x-raying the patient so that they are certain of the treatment area, ensure that the correct dose of radiation is set in the equipment computer (very important!), and also make sure that the patient does not have any strange reactions while receiving radiation therapy treatment.

The most obvious method of becoming a radiation therapist in Vermont is to complete an associate’s degree program in radiation therapy. This program is found at various community colleges in the state. Also, you can find bachelor’s degree programs in radiation therapy. Always make sure of the minimum education requirements for the facilities in your area that you will be applying to. That way you can be certain to get the right degree for the job. Upon graduating with your radiation therapy degree, you will need to get licensed and then certified so you can start working as a radiation therapist.

Even though radiation therapy is a vital part of a cancer patient’s treatment, there are few radiation therapists in Vermont when compared to other healthcare professionals. The job field is projected to grow by 20% in the next few years, but since it is such a small career field, that will only increase the number of radiation therapists by a few thousand. That is not to say that radiation therapy is not a good field to go into, to the contrary. It is important that more people go into radiation therapy because there are more people being diagnosed with early stages of cancer as each year passes. More early stage cancer patients means more radiation therapists will be needed.

A lot of people really like the pay that comes along with being a radiation therapist in Vermont. Radiation therapists make somewhere around $75,000 on the average. When first starting out as a radiation therapist in Vermont, you can likely expect to earn somewhere between $68,000 and $70,000, depending on who your employer is and the town where you find work.