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PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL/TEXT (806-335-0630) ME ANYTIME
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Disability Services facilitates access to all programs and services according to the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as well as other federal and state laws.
Amarillo College is committed to providing equal access to all programs and services, including all working, learning, and service environments that affect equal access for persons with disabilities. This commitment to provide equal access and opportunity for persons with disabilities is in compliance with federal and state law. Amarillo College also strives to provide Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) that are accessible to all authorized users.
If you find you are unable to access material in an accessible format please contact the Disability Services Office at (806) 345-5639 . This office will work in conjunction with other campus resources to address and accommodate your issue in a timely manner.
As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. Amarillo College offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, you can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus by calling the AC Counseling Center at 806-371-5900. The AC Counseling Center website is https://www.actx.edu/counseling/ . Also, if you are in need of social services (affordable housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, childcare, medical/dental/vision, legal), please call the AC Advocacy & Resource Center at 806-371-5439. The AC Advocacy & Resource Center website is https://www.actx.edu/arc
Tutoring for Success applies to any student whose overall performance in the course falls below 75%. The instructor will create the task in the Student Engagement Portal (Watermark) to direct the student to the appropriate tutoring service, which may be faculty- or SI-led, discipline-specific, and/or general. The tutoring service assigned, the due date for when the tutoring must be completed, and the amount of tutoring required are at the discretion of the instructor. Additionally, the task will alert the student’s success team. Students who do not fulfill the assigned tutoring task may be subject to program- and course-specific penalties that could result in a grade reduction and/or in not being allowed to progress in the course until the tutoring requirement has been satisfied.
Students who do not attend class on or prior to the census date will be administratively dropped. Effective Fall, 2016
Students who wish to withdraw from a course must complete all steps indicated on the Academic Withdrawal Request form by the course withdrawal deadline.
NOTE: Students who are attending Texas institutions of higher education, for the first time fall 2007 and later, may not withdraw from more than six courses during their academic career. This withdrawal limitation does not include dual credit or developmental classes (Senate Bill 1231 Rule 4.10.) For more information on Drop and Withdrawal Policies, please visit the Registrar's Office Web site.
The Amarillo College Privacy Policy is found at https://www.actx.edu/-amarillo-college-privacy-notice , and applies to all Amarillo College students. If you have questions about this privacy statement or you believe that your personal information has been released without your consent, send email to humanresources@actx.edu .
RADT-1205-001 Technical Procedures I
Skill development in therapeutic practices relating to the field of radiation therapy with emphasis on basic patient set-up treatment techniques and port film evaluation.
Student ResourcesStudent Resources Website
Notice to Students enrolled in an educational program for preparation of issuance of certain occupational licenses:
Students enrolled in an educational program in preparation for obtaining certain occupational licenses are potentially ineligible for such license if the student has been convicted of an offense. For further information, please contact:
Melodie Graves
Justice Involved Advocate
Student Service Center 117
mgraves24@actx.edu
806-371-5995
Make appointment at https://melodiegraves.youcanbook.me
You can also contact the Legal Clinic, or the faculty member in charge of the educational program that you seek to enroll in. The further information you will receive will include notification to you of your right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the licensing authority in order to clarify your particular situation.
(2 sem hrs; 1 lec, 3 lab)
Hybrid
Principles and Practices of Radiation Therapy (most recent edition.) Leaver and Washington;
Radiation Therapy Study Guide and Exam Review-Levy (starting with 2nd semester of lab)
NOTE: ALL TIMES FOR ALL CLASSES AND CLASS ACTIVITIES (including exams!) DESCRIBED ARE CENTRAL STANDARD TIME! PLEASE NOTE YOUR TIME IN RELATION TO CENTRAL STANDARD TIME.
dosimeter badge, writing instruments, sharpie marker, centimeter ruler. Computer technology as described in program application materials
PURPOSE:
A series of lecture/lab courses that will include basic, intermediate and advanced equipment use, patient set ups, treatment and simulation techniques.
GOALS:
To give the radiotherapy student entry level technical skills directly relating to the clinical environment. The student will have the opportunity to explore simulation and treatment principles using life-like phantoms. The student will also experience techniques in equipment operations and discussions on treatment principles and their variations.
OBJECTIVES:
After studying the material presented in these courses, the student will be able to do the following with a minimum 80% academic accuracy and 100% clinical accuracy as evaluated by the faculty in the program:
1. Operate all therapy treatment equipment according to operators manual.
2. Warm-up treatment machines and record/perform all safety, QA checks as required.
3. Record/identify all measurements and information necessary in treatment chart and plan.
4. Reproduce patient set-ups/simulations as required by treatment plan for a wide variety of treatment sites and techniques.
5. Set appropriate controls in console and activate treatment according to plan.
6. Document/ verify accuracy of field alignment.
7. Recognize treatment failures/faults and take appropriate actions to rectify.
8. Acquire a basic knowledge of dosimetry calculation principles and other treatment planning data.
9. Acquire simulation skills for a wide variety of treatment sites and techniques
10. Demonstrate understanding of the function of equipment and accessories
In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .
If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".
Class Policies: note-these policies do not apply to any non RADT course, including the sectional anatomy course in the Spring semester first year, which is taught through the radiography program, not the radiation therapy department.
If you have any questions about what constitutes your own work or cheating or unfair advantage, ask the instructor. Note: Radiation Therapy courses utilize “SafeAssign” plagiarism detection tools.. Plagiarism is considered as cheating.
Mandatory proctoring of exams/Quizzes: All major section exams and regular quizzes will be given online and these graded activities must be proctored (typically by utilizing Respondus Lockdown Browser and Respondus Monitor security software, as will be described within the course itself). Therefore, students will be required to either 1) use webcam software that records them while taking exams, 2) or other approved testing site (not applicable for typical situations). For either of these options, students will be required to show official picture identification prior to the start of the exam/quiz. Note: Final “Exit Exams” MUST be taken at an approved testing site, NOT via webcam on a personal computer (exception:
Once a student logs into an exam on AC Online, the timer for that exam begins and continues until the maximum allowable time for that exam has expired, regardless of whether the student is online or off-line! As a result, students are strongly advised not to log off and on during an exam.
Following the mid-semester break (Fall and Spring semesters only) the student will schedule their Final Exams. All Final Exams must be completed by the end of the day on the Wednesday of Final Exams week (note: Summer semester has only a Final Exams day). Final Exams will be scheduled by the student and must be approved by the instructor before confirmation of exam time/date/place. Final Exams may NOT be scheduled prior to Final Exams week. Exception, Final Exam for Labs may take place during the week before final exams (as is customary with “lab practicals”). Local/Area students may take their final exams on campus at the West Campus testing center.
*Unless there is documentation of an extraordinary circumstance (e.g. extreme illness /hospitalization etc. Matters of scheduling convenience, in particular, will never be considered as an exception.
Exam conduct requirement | Consequence for violation of exam conduct |
Valid photo ID shown | A zero will be given for the exam until student identity is confirmed by a valid photo ID (not required Spring 2016). |
Correct placement of webcam | A 30 percentage point penalty will be given for incorrect webcam placement. See the instructional video in the course website for a demonstration of correct webcam placement. |
Complete environment scan | A 30 percentage point penalty will be given for an incomplete or insufficient scan of the testing environment. See the instructional video in the course website for a demonstration of how to completely scan your testing environment. |
Microphone turned on and recording | A 30 percentage point penalty will be given for an exam taken without the microphone being turned on and recording throughout the entire exam. |
Sufficient lighting of the testing environment | A 30 percentage point penalty will be given for an exam taken without enough lighting for the instructor to assess the testing environment. |
Student remains in webcam view during exam | A student who leaves the webcam view during an exam for any reason will receive a zero for that exam. Take care of any restroom or other business ahead of time. Ensure that you will not be interrupted for the duration of the exam. Exams can last as long as two hours (typically a little over an hour). |
No unauthorized materials near desk area | A student who has any unauthorized materials (books, notes, blank paper, phone, another computer, etc.) near the testing area will receive a zero for that exam. |
No talking with others during the exam or playing of music or other audio recordings. | A student who has any music or audio recordings playing during exams, or who talks with anyone for any reason during the exam, will receive a zero for that exam. |
The exam is taken in an approved proctored environment | Any exam taken without either the webcam software or in the Amarillo College Science Testing Center will receive a zero. |
Consequences for violating the above requirements will be suspended on the syllabus quiz (if applicable), so that instructors can educate students about proper testing behavior. AND/OR students will be given a “mock quiz” that will be used as a “practice session” to ensure that all testing requirements are met prior to actual testing begins (during the first semester of online course delivery only) This practice quiz twill help identify unintentional or honest mistakes and feedback will be given to any student where potential violations are identified.
Any student who thinks that a penalty was misapplied can request that the penalty be reviewed according to the grievance procedure listed below.
Also See Attendance policy.
Also see Amarillo College students rights and responsibility document. Link to that document is found elsewhere in this syllabus.
Also see the student grievance procedure found in the Student Handbook that was handed out at the beginning of the program (during the first practicum/clinical course, and is available in all Practicum online courses).
Inappropriate behavior that is disruptive to the learning experience for the class will not be tolerated.
The instructor will make arrangements via online course email to have at least one “one-to-one” live conversation (phone or in-course live“Chat”) during the semester
The purpose of the contact is to check with the student to see how they are doing and address any questions or concerns on the part of either the student or the faculty. Of course, aside from this scheduled communication, the student can feel free to contact the instructor at any time the student has any questions or concerns. The instructor will send an email via the online course email tool to each student within the first three weeks of the course to set up the telephone visit, which will typically take place close to mid-term (about 8 weeks into the course, 6 weeks into a summer course). Note: Fall and Spring semesters are 16 weeks of classwork (with a week break halfway through), summer term is 12 straight weeks.
EMAIL: For questions related to this particular class, please use the online course email. For any other email contact (program in general or clinical questions or any other concern/question that needs more immediate attention), please contact me via my office email (which I typically check multiple times each day) at: tmtackitt@actx.edu Please make sure that the subject heading includes “RTT” and something specific about your inquiry.
The instructor will be in communication (email, discussion boards, phone, exam review forums, Facebook. etc.) with all students during the semester.
see Amarillo College students rights and responsibility document
COURSE ETHICS
Radiation Therapy courses
Each student will be required to prepare written assignments for credit in various courses, and take written examinations typically as a routine part of each course. As such, students should be fully aware of the instructor's policies relative to the ethics regarding copying the work of others and any unethical act that may occur during a quiz or examination or other assignment.
PLAGIARISM is the theft of another person's work or thinking. Words, as well as ideas, or intellectual property and can be stolen from another person as easily as money or some other item. As such, plagiarism can be a violation of the law, and is certainly a violation of ethics. Even in those cases where the law may not be violated, plagiarism is unethical and does the wrong thing to do and can carry severe consequences for the perpetrator.
In a college credit course, it is considered plagiarism to copy the work of another student, even with the permission of that student, since the copied work violates course ethics. Under the circumstances associated with a course assignment for credit, a student would also need the permission of the course instructor before it is considered ethical to copy the work of a peer. Obviously, that permission is not likely to be given, for it totally defeats the purpose of the assignment, which is to measure or demonstrate the knowledge and ability of the student -- not the ability of someone else. Stated another way, and these courses, a student WILL NOT COPY ANOTHER STUDENTS WORK on any assignment for credit!
Likewise, unethical conduct during a quiz or examination is also the wrong thing to do. For a student pursuing a career in a health occupation, test dishonesty can be seen as a reliable predictor of unacceptable job performance following graduation. This instructor takes the position that the dishonest student is probably also unethical in other ways and is a threat to the safety of any patient who comes in contact with that student. Employers likely take a similar position. The healthcare industry cannot tolerate such conduct.
At Amarillo college, there are grave academic penalties for any unethical conduct on the part of any student. The policy and penalty for such conduct is provided in the General Catalog as follows:
"A high standard of conduct is expected of all students. It is assumed that obedience to the law, respect for properly constituted authority, personal honor, integrity and common sense will guide the actions of each member of the college community both in and out of the classroom. Any student who fails to perform according to expected standards may be disciplined."
It should be concluded from this statement that unethical course conduct is absolutely prohibited by Amarillo College policy. To be more specific, in radiation therapy courses, plagiarism, dishonesty, or any other unethical course conduct, is reason for a final course grade of "F" regardless of other grades earned in the course.
This ethics policy is STRICTLY enforced, with ZERO tolerance, for ALL RADT courses! A student should not risk his or her final grade in his course, and any future enrollment privileges at Amarillo College, as the result of an unethical act related to a course assignment or examination. If in doubt about a particular assignment or testing practice, contact the course instructor FIRST!
Weekly Exams=100 points per exam unless otherwise stated in the lecture material or other communications (regardless of the number of questions). Thee are no quizzes for this course, only weekly exams/tests. THE LOWEST REGULAR WEEKLY EXAM GRADE EACH SEMESTER for each course WILL BE DROPPED (to account for possible technology issues). The dropped exam grade will not be figured-in until the end of the semester.
Final exam=400 points Final exams are always comprehensive.
NOTE-THE STUDENT MUST PASS AT LEAST TWO REGULAR EXAMS IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE TO TAKE THE FINAL (5 in the case of lab courses). IF THE STUDENT DOES NOT PASS AT LEAST TWO TESTS, THE STUDENT WILL NOT TAKE THE FINAL AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE AN “F” FOR THE COURSE.
STUDENTS MUST SCORE AT LEAST A 72% ON THE FINAL EXAM IN ORDER TO PASS THE COURSE. SCORES BELOW 72% ON THE FINAL EXAM WILL RESULT IN FAILING THE COURSE NO MATTER WHAT THE COURSE AVERAGE IS FOR THE OTHER GRADED ACTIVITIES DURING THE SEMESTER. Note" a 72% only allows you to keep the grade earned during the rest of the semester! IF the student scores a 72%, they must still have an overall average that is at least 83% in order to pass the course!
All points earned during the semester will be added together and divided into the total amount of points possible to determine a percentage grade. This includes grades from labs and any outside assignments.
A=93-100% B=88-92% C=83-87% F=below 83% (the is no rounding up)
A "D" is not possible in this course
Note-the online course will record and track your grades. The student is expected to check their grades regularly. If there is any discrepancy between the grade you receive and the grade you expect to see, please contact the instructor.
Students that have a failing grade early in the semester can contact the instructor for a consultation if they wish. Any student with a failing grade at any point after mid-semester can expect to be contacted by the instructor.
Remediation Requirements:
Any time a student does not pass a regular exam (worth 100 or more points), the student will be required to meet with the instructor for grade discussion. Students will have the opportunity to review all exams with the instructor. Repeat exams will be scheduled. Any exam not passed must be repeated prior to the next exam for that course. The repeat exam must receive a grade of at least 90% (85% if there is any substantial mathematics in the exam—as described to the student during the consultation). Student must show all work on any mathematics or the question will be counted as incorrect). Failure to receive the required grade on the repeat exam will result in a 5% course grade reduction for each occurrence. Failure to take the repeat exam prior to the next regular exam (or Final Exam, in the case of the last regular exam of the semester) will result in a 10% course grade reduction
While some online courses are completely self-paced (asynchronous), this course has numerous and regular deadlines, including specific exam times as well as activities (including group activities) with specific due dates.
Class “lectures” will typically be in the form of audio podcasts (lab courses also include video demonstrations). RADT classes also typically include some vodcast (video podcast) and/or audio podcast tutorials and orientations, but not all classes utilize podcasts for regular lecture content (combined with Study Guide).
Activities that follow-up on the lectures are placed in the “Lessons” tab of this online course. Podcast assignments (dates to complete listening to each assigned podcast) is found in the Course Calendar. The student MUST have the class Study Guide* prior to listening to podcasts, as the Study Guide serves as a fill-in workbook for the podcasts.When listening to a lecture podcast, you MUST have a printout of the course Study Guide with you, as you will be “filling in the blanks” of the Study Guide while listening to the lectures.
*Study Guide is the downloadable workbook required for many online classes. Study Guides are required for Intro, Oncology I, Onciology II, Dosimetry I, Dosimetry II, QA, and there are also Study Guides embedded in each section for labs. Study Guide workbooks are NOT used in Ethics & Law, Technology Research (the last academic class in the curriculum), or any Practicum (clinical) courses...although clinical courses do require a number of documents to be downloaded and printed.
The Course Calendar will outline the specific due dates for the exams. More information about what to expect for the final exams will be given in the podcast lectures and through other communications. Be sure to check your online class email and the class home page on a daily basis, Monday-Friday, for updates and important information. Important updates are also frequently posted on the class social media page (Facebook).
If you have any questions relating to exam questions for any Lab course, please contact the instructor by their preferred contact means. Please be sure to include the exam number and question number in your inquiry.
When taking an exam, expect mostly multiple choice questions with some fill in blank, true false questions and even matching. .
Tests typically allow an AVERAGE of about 30-40 seconds per question (ex: about 50 minutes total will be allowed for taking a 100 question exam). More time is allotted for exams containing math. There is no time limit per question, just an overall time limit for the exam. Once the exam time allowed has elapsed, if you have not completed the exam, the exam will automatically submit even if you are not finished. Pacing is important in taking exams/quizzes. Even though you have a large window of time to start the exam, once you click in to “begin” the test/quiz your official time allowed for the test/quiz begins.
Make-ups are not possible for quizzes non-exam graded activities. If they are submitted late (after the due date) they will be recorded as a grade of 0%. Exams may be made up only under extraordinary circumstances (this is why the lowest exam grade is dropped). If a student has received approval to take a make-up, this will likely result in the exam questions discussion board not opening until AFTER all students have completed the exam. A make-up exam will result in a 20% grade reduction for the exam. Make-up exams will be the exception rather than the rule! Do not expect to be able to take any make-up exams for a class.
Weekly lab exams will be given on assigned days described by the instructor, Mondays or Tuesdays, depending on the semester.
Any quizzes over podcast lectures (and/or crossword puzzles) will be due by 11:59PM Central Time on the day assigned. Quizzes will also be open from 11:00AM-11:59PM CST. Note: quizzes and exams CLOSE and auto-submit at 11:59PM. Do not start an exam at 11:58PM thinking you will have the allotted time to complete the exam.
The information below only relates to lectures (podcasts), activities (quizzes etc.) related to lectures, and exams. Other learning activity assignments are to be found in the Lessons and due dates are described in the course calendar. Quizzes/crossword puzzles ONLY cover content from previous “class day” podcast lecture ,and does not include textbook references or any tables or charts unless otherwise specified. Example: Intro Class: the Tuesday quiz on week 2 is over the podcasts assigned the previous Thursday (podcasts 1-1 through 1-7)
CALENDAR:note: dates/times below are expected. Extenuating circumstances may result in changes. Changes will be communicated to students as soon as they are known)
Week 1 Syllabus review
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6 Whole Brain
Week 7 Extremity
Week 8 Lung
Week 9 Pelvis
Week 10 abdomen/Electron
Week 11-12 breast (normally class is in 2 parts)
Week 13-14 H&N (normally class is in 2 parts)
Week 15 Lab final
Be sure to have a quiet and secluded space for listening to podcasts (and taking notes using the Study Guide while listening). Exam materials come from lecture/Study Guide content (and text sources that are described in lecture) unless otherwise stated (e.g. a learning activity that describes that it may be a source of exam questions).
NOTE:Audio podcast length can vary significantly from just a minute or tow (rare) to nearly an hour—though podcasts average about 15 minutes in length. LONGER PODCASTS WILL PROMPT YOU TO DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST RATHER THAN LISTEN DIRECTLY FROM THE WEB SITE..
Library resources are available online and can be found on the top menu in any class.as well as athttp://www.actx.edu/library/index.php You’ll need your college ID# and login (this same you use to register each semester)
IMPORTANT NOTE: IF AN RADT CLASS IS REPEATED FOR ANY REASON, THE STUDENT REPEATING THE CLASS WILL TAKE ALL QUIZZES AND SECTION EXAMS (but no homework or other assignments), AND THE FINAL EXAM. THE ONLY GRADE THAT WILL COUNT TOWARDS THE OVERALL REPEAT COURSE GRADE IS THE GRADE EARNED ON THE FINAL EXAM! AGAIN, WHILE THE STUDENT WILL TAKE QUIZZES AND SECTION EXAMS, AS THOSE WILL HELP PREPARE THE STUDENT FOR THE FINAL EXAM, THE ONLY GRADE THAT WILL COUNT TOWARDS THE OVERALL GRADE IS THE FINAL EXAM GRADE!
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