UPEI radiography students win top prizes

Six students from UPEI's bachelor of applied science in radiography (BScR) program were awarded the top and second- place prizes in a recent Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT) video and photo contest.

Marla MacAusland, Krista Betts (MacDonald), Sue Donahoe, Lisa Norton, Holly Manning and Rob DeWolfe entered CAMRT's ‘Very Image of Care' contest, submitting both a video and photo. Their entry, 'We NOD because we care,' demonstrated the daily tasks of an MRT and the importance of their role within the healthcare team.

Their video portion, the grand prize winner, promoted the main goals of MRTs including radiation safety, the NOD approach, and patient care. Their photo, which earned second place, illustrated MRT equipment which they incorporated into the CAMRT logo. All contest entries were judged by a jury and then voted upon by visitors to the CAMRT website.

Before the students learned of the contest results, they tried not to get their hopes up. The team was impressed when their photo received second place, and they were even more thrilled to find out they had also won the grand prize for their video. 'We are so grateful for all the votes from our friends and families, and the QEH staff who voted and got their loved ones to vote, too,' said MacAusland. 'It was definitely all of those email votes that helped us win!'

The team wanted to show their friends and family what their future career is all about and how it differs from other healthcare professions. The team was able to use their clinical work experience to create a successful contest entry.

The team was presented with a grand total of $4,000 ($3,000 for the video and $1,000 for the photo) which they spent this week on airline tickets to Toronto to attend the CAMRT conference in June.

The ‘Very Image of Care' contest was open to all MRTs in Canada, as well as students in CMA-accredited programs in Canada.

Check out the team's winning video and photo.