OLYMPIA—Today the House unanimously passed House Bill 2355, sponsored by Rep. Greg Nance (D-Kitsap) to expand Washington’s healthcare workforce by reducing the barriers to certify new Radiologic Technologists and MRI providers.
“Washington faces a dire healthcare workforce shortage. We must reduce unnecessary barriers to train and certify our workforce,” said Nance. “This legislation will help us train more MRI technologists to detect breast cancer, diagnose heart disease, and discover strokes or aneurisms before they become deadly. Early detection saves lives.”
The Department of Health currently recognizes five different professional titles as certified radiologic technologists, but “magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologist” isn’t on the list.
Nance’s bill would add MRI technologist to the list and include the supervision requirement that they work at the direction of a licensed practitioner, including direct supervision by a physician for parenteral procedures related to radiologic technology.
A training course for MRI technology takes about two years. The legislation will bring Washington training requirements back to national training standards.
“This is a small change that can make a big difference in bolstering our healthcare workforce. I’m proud to work across the aisle and deliver for our neighbors across the state.”
The legislation passed the House in a unanimous 97 to 0 vote. It is now onto the Senate for consideration.
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