LINCOLN – The Radiologic Training Program through Southeast Community College at the Lincoln campus found out a couple of weeks ago that one of their students had the honor of having her essay chosen by the American Society of Radiologic Technologist, also known as the ASRT, for the Summer Leadership Development Program.
The student’s name is Hannah Coffman, 20, from Hickman.
She will be one of two students to represent the Nebraska Society of Radiologic Technologists, also known as the NSRT, at the national conference in Albuquerque, N.M., on June 14-16 this summer.
Coffman is in her seventh quarter of the eight-quarter program and is part of SCC’s distance track of the program, which means she does all of her classes online, is required to attend a workshop twice during the program at SCC Lincoln campus and does her clinical in Marysville, Kan.
The Marysville hospital is an affiliate with the Radiologic Training Program.
The essay competition Coffman won was put together by the ASRT and selected by the NSRT, which is a state affiliate of the organization.
Each year the ASRT has an essay competition to select two students from each state to attend the national conference and House of Delegates meeting in addition to leadership training and courses. Each state sends two board members from their state society along with the two students to represent their state and vote on issues.
The House of Delegates meeting is for the ASRT, and like any other society, has laws and bylaws for medical radiographers.
The organization outlines its practice standards of what should and should not be done. This annual meeting hashes out what needs changed, what’s working and what’s not.
“The essay itself was about how we would gain from this experience and how our leadership would benefit if they got the opportunity to go to the conference,” said Coffman.
Coffman is the first student selected that has been part
of SCC’s Radiologic Training Program. The other student selected is from Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff.
These two students were picked out of approximately 50 students who submitted essays. Some programs made it mandatory to write an essay, but the SCC program made it optional to let the students take the initiative.
Brandon Holt, one of SCC’s program instructors, was a mentor at the conference for a couple of years for students from Nebraska. He will coach Coffman on what to expect before she goes down to Albuquerque. “It’s a great opportunity to see what it takes to practice,” said Hold. “They say what they can and cannot do as x-ray techs and that’s where it all kind of starts, where all those changes and regulations are made.”