Mayor Rick Chrest to Proclaim November 4-10, 2018 as “MRT Week” in the City of Brandon

The Manitoba Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (“MAMRT”) is pleased to
announce that Mayor Rick Chrest will be officially proclaiming November 4th to 10th, 2018 as “Medical Radiation Technology (MRT) Week” in the City of Brandon.

The MRT profession is one which encompasses four distinct, but related, disciplines; Medical Radiologic Technology (more commonly known as “X-ray” Technology), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (“MRI”) and Nuclear Medicine Technologies, as well as Radiation Therapy.

MRTs play a key role in the healthcare system. They deliver professional imaging and radiation related treatment services with a caring touch, allowing patients to fully benefit from the latest in medical diagnostic and treatment technology.

In a 2013 Harris Decima poll commissioned by the national MRT Association, nearly one third of Canadians surveyed indicated they had received a medical imaging procedure or radiation therapy to treat cancer or another disease in the past six months.
However, there is a disconnect for the MRT profession: only a small percentage of Canadians could correctly identify “MRT” as the name of the healthcare provider group that performed the service. Most Canadians mistakenly assume that MRTs are nurses, doctors or lab technicians, not understanding that it is MRTs who deliver these vital services.

Each year, during November, MRTs across all of Canada celebrate their essential contributions within their community, amongst their colleagues, and with each other. MRT Week not only provides an opportunity for MRTs to demonstrate pride in their profession, it also affords a chance to educate and to convey to the public the important message about the critical link MRTs provide between technology and patients in the healthcare system.

Fast Facts:

• Medical Radiation Technologists (MRTs) are highly skilled Health Care Professionals dedicated to providing the highest standard of care to patients while maintaining a high degree of technical competence;
• MRTs, in concert with their colleagues across Canada, continually establish new levels and standards of excellence in each of the four following vital disciplines within the profession of Medical Radiation Technology: Medical Radiologic (X-ray) Technology, Nuclear Medicine Technology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology and Radiation Therapy;
• MAMRT, the Manitoba Association of Medical Radiation Technologists, was formed 89 years ago, in 1929, and was the first such organization in all of Canada;
• The Manitoba membership has grown from an original 25 to over 900, including 50+ members living and/or working in the City of Brandon; and
• Nationwide, Medical Radiation Technologists annually celebrate their essential role during “MRT Week”, to always fall in the week of November 8th, being the day Wilhelm Roentgen discovered what is now known as “X-rays”.

The MAMRT is extremely appreciative of Mayor Chrest’s official recognition of the value of Medical Radiation Technology in the diagnostic and treatment field of medicine and of the contributions and achievements of the MAMRT’s members.