Written by: Louise Miller, R.T.(R)(M)(ARRT), CRT(M), FSBI, FNCBC Getting a notification from ACR that your facility will be undergoing an additional evaluation/validation review strikes fear in the hearts of most members of the breast imaging team. Technologists, radiologists and the administrative team all "quiver in our boots". (Whatever that means!) It is important however, to try to remain calm (yeah, right!), but also be prepared for how your image quality will be evaluated. "These Validation Cycles, which were revised and published by the ACR in February 2023, are testing cycles ..read more

Written by: Louise Miller, R.T.(R)(M)(ARRT), CRT(M), FSBI, FNCBC During this time of the year, we often focus our attention on finding the “perfect” gift to give to our friends, family members and even our pets! We spend a great deal of time, and often expense, in the process. We think about the gift itself and how we will wrap it, anticipating if the recipient will be delighted with both. Or, if we run out of time, we pop the gift into a holiday gift bag (thank goodness!) that we saved from last year. (Hot Tip: You can iron wrinkled tissue paper on very low heat, if you are desperate ..read more

Written by: Louise Miller, R.T.(R)(M)(ARRT), CRT(M), FSBI, FNCBC How did you learn to position? Did you go to the “See one, do one, teach one” school? How about the “Watch one, botch one” academy? Positioning training is the most important aspect of your current or future role as a mammographer. After all, it is what you spend 90% of your time doing on the job. . .and your patient’s lives depend on it! When I started doing mammograms in the late 1980’s, we were just thrown in there. Unlike general radiology, there were no classes that would help us understand breast anatomy, how to ..read more

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Breast Imaging Consultant, Robyn Hadley, A.S., R.T.(R)(M)(ARRT) recently ventured to Dillingham, Alaska to conduct a Mammography Positioning Refresher Training at Bristol Bay Area Health, an Indian Health Services (IHS) facility that serves over 20-30 villages in the area, with many of the villages having to commute by small plane, as there are no roads in or out of the area. Over the past 100 years, the people of Bristol Bay have not only endured and survived life in a harsh climate and rugged terrain, they also suffered greatly from epidemics such as the Influenza Epidemic which reache ..read more

Written by: Robyn Hadley, A.S., R.T.(R)(M)(ARRT), Breast Imaging Consultant Recent headlines read: “FDA Updates Mammography Regulations in Final MQSA Rule”, “Major Updates Coming to Mammography Quality and Certification Standards….”, “FDA National Reporting Standard”, “Effective date: September 10, 2024”.  As mammography technologists and especially those of us who are responsible for regulatory compliance, we began to ask what exactly do these headlines mean? What regulations were updated? What changes does my facility have to make? Is my facility already adhering to breast density no ..read more

Written by: Louise C. Miller, R.T.(R)(M)(ARRT), CRT(M), FSBI, FNCBC, Director of Education I get calls and emails several times a week from offices that are desperately looking for Mammography Technologists. You may know from working in your own facility that there is a huge shortage. Unfortunately, that directly impacts patient (and technologist) care! Patients have to wait, sometimes for months, to get their screenings and even worse, weeks to get a diagnostic exam. Technologists are overloaded with heavier schedules and there is no relief staff for coverage when their colleagues are sick ..read more

What an incredible year this has been! The Mammography Educators team is beyond grateful for the opportunity to work with life-saving healthcare professionals everyday in an effort to improve image quality and find those tiny breast cancers earlier. We love what we do and appreciate all our colleagues and clients.  Wishing each and every one of you a very Happy Thanksgiving ..read more

This post was written in 2021 by Louise Miller, R.T.(R)(M)(ARRT), CRT(M), FSBI, FNCBC. We felt this information is so valuable, that we wanted to share it again this year! I don’t know about you, but when Breast Cancer Awareness Month would come around, I'd have mixed feelings: YIKES… full schedules everyday… non-stop! But then ... WOW… this is the time of year where we can have fun with decorations, patient giveaways and celebrate the amazing work that we do!  Before we "get there", I want to share some thoughts that might inspire you and help make October, ie: Breast Cancer Awareness ..read more

Written by: Louise C. Miller, R.T.(R)(M)(ARRT), CRT(M), FSBI, FNCBC, Director of Education When I started writing this blog, I created a list of challenging patients and situations that were not related specifically to positioning challenges (i.e. frozen shoulder, kyphosis, wheelchair patients, etc) since these were addressed in my previous blog article. This list was based on my personal experience with patients, but then as I talked to other mammographers and read posts in Quality Breast Imagers Facebook Group, I realized that we ALL experience these same challenges and som ..read more