Surveys are a fundamental part of our work at ARRT. Knowing how the technologists and volunteers in medical imaging, interventional procedures, and radiation therapy think and feel about the discipline and ARRT help us continue to ensure the gold standard in imaging. While there are various surveys conducted by several different departments, the Exam Requirements and Psychometrics department generally uses surveys for three purposes: Practice Analyses, Responses to Proposed Discipline Document Changes, and Volunteer Experiences.
Let's take a moment to discuss the Three Ws of surveys in the Exam Requirements and Psychometrics department: Who, What, and Why.
Practice Analyses
- Who participates in this survey? A representative sample of people who hold active credentials practicing in the discipline.
- What does this type of survey ask about? The practice analysis survey lists activities that entry-level technologists might perform in their jobs. This survey asks about how frequently technologists perform different tasks at work, in addition to several demographic questions.
- Why do we conduct this survey? We conduct this survey so that we can effectively update our Discipline Documents and, by extension, the exam. We use this survey to make sure the questions on the exam are relevant to tasks technologists perform on the job.
Responses to Proposed Discipline Document Changes
- Who participates in this survey? Those in the public that are interested in providing feedback for the changes planned to our Discipline Documents.
- What does this type of survey ask about? This survey asks questions centered around changes proposed to the various Discipline Documents. We use the survey responses to update and maintain our exams.
- Why do we conduct this survey? We conduct this survey so that we can effectively evaluate public response to some proposed changes. Our committees consider the feedback about how the Discipline Documents should be revised.
Volunteer Experiences
- Who participates in this survey? The people participating in this type of survey are our wonderful volunteers, who serve in various capacities to help us develop exams and assessments.
- What does this type of survey ask about? This type of survey focuses on the experiences of our volunteers and how we can potentially improve their experience of volunteering with us.
- Why do we conduct this survey? This survey helps us make sure we are treating our volunteers appropriately and continuing to provide them with a fulfilling and enjoyable experience. We could not do our jobs without them, so it is fundamental that we understand how they are thinking and feeling.
While we sometimes conduct other surveys, the above are the three broad categories most surveys conducted by the Exam Requirements and Psychometrics department can be grouped into. If you have any thoughts about ways our department could potentially improve our survey processes, or a type of survey you think we should conduct, do not hesitate to reach out to me at Travis.Hensersky@arrt.org. I'm always willing to think through how we can best use surveys to serve the interests of our stakeholders!
