Professor Warren Hejny and radiography student Jose Ayala celebrate with the Golden Skeleton.
This year at the fourth annual Nevada Society of Radiologic Technologists (NvSRT) State Conference in April, a Truckee Meadows Community College student won the Golden Skeleton back from rival college radiologic technology departments, and brought it home for display at the William N. Pennington Health Science Center.
Director of TMCC’s Radiologic Technology Program Warren Hejny was one of the organizers for the conference that took place at the Health Science Center April 20–21. About 60 attendees from across Nevada took part in the conference.
One of the kick-off events was an academic bowl. Students from the three main radiologic technology programs in Nevada vied for the Golden Skeleton—30 competitors from TMCC, Great Basin College (GBC) and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).
First place this year went to Jose Ayala, a first-year radiography student at TMCC.
"I was so excited after I won," Ayala said. "It’s great that we have a way to show everyone who we are in radiology and what we're about."
Professor Hejny is proud of Ayala, and pleased to show the trophy at the Pennington Health Science Center.
“He was very excited when he answered the question correctly and he saw his competition had missed it,” Professor Hejny said. “He jumped up in excitement, high-fived me, knowing he had placed first.”
Golden Skeleton Comes to TMCC
“Similar to the Fremont Cannon traveling trophy between the University of Nevada, Reno and UNLV, the annual student bowl for the NvSRT has the Golden Skeleton traveling trophy which resides at the school whose student wins first place in the student bowl,” he said.
Questions asked at the student challenge were typical of what the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) would ask on the certifying exam for radiologic technologists. The questions are asked one at a time, and as the students miss the correct answer, they are eliminated from the competition. Nerves tighten when it comes down to the final three contestants, Hejny added.
“The Golden Skeleton will reside here at TMCC in the radiologic technology display case until next year when we defend the student bowl challenge,” he said.
In the first two years of the NvSRT conference academic bowl, students from GBC and UNLV won the Golden Skeleton.
“All three schools have now been winners in the bowl,” Hejny said. “Who will be the first to win twice? Will TMCC be the first in what hopefully could be the beginning stages of a long-lasting tradition that is just in its infancy?”
Speakers and Mummies
TMCC Radiologic Technology Instructor John Bailey was one of the speakers at the conference. The title of his talk was "What Lies Beneath: The Role of Radiography in Egyptology".
“John went to Luxor, Egypt over the winter break and visited some of the digs where mummies were found, which provided him the ability to give a fantastic lecture on the subject regarding the X-ray technology used for looking at mummies,” Hejny said.
Other presentations at the conference included the following presentations:
- Gadolinium in MRI
- Mammography Saves Lives
- CyberKnife: Introduction to Stereotactic Radiosurgery
- CT Dose Evaluation
- Digital Imaging in Radiography
- Legislative Discussion, Nevada Licensure for Radiology
About the NvSRT
Hejny is currently the NvSRT Sierra Nevada Chapter President. The Sierra Nevada Chapter is a member of the state organization, the NvSRT. NvSRT is a member of the national organization, the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT).
For more information about TMCC's Radiologic Technology Program, please call Warren Hejny’s office at 775-850-4045.