As the Las Vegas Valley continues to grow, UNLV and Desert Radiology are working together to keep up with the demand radiologic technologists.

UNLV’s radiography program, housed within the Department of Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences in UNLV’s School of Integrated Health Sciences, has been educating future front-line health care workers for more than 50 years.

“The legacy we have for graduating well-qualified technologists in the valley is well known,” said Chad Hensley, director of UNLV’s radiography program. “This benefits patient care, elevates the profession, and helps to supply not only the Las Vegas Valley and all of Nevada, but the entire country with future leaders in the profession.”

Matt Grimes, chief operating officer of Desert Radiology, graduated with his degree in radiography administration from UNLV in 1996. While that particular degree track is no longer offered, Grimes has always been committed to partnering with his alma mater by providing an enhanced educational experience for students in the radiography program.

“I think we owe it to our community to build and cultivate a strong skill set of technologists,” he said.

Grimes worked within the Valley Health System for almost 15 years before joining Desert Radiology nearly a decade ago. While they didn’t know each other at the time, Grimes and Hensley were students together in UNLV’s radiography program almost 30 years ago.

One of his first priorities as head of Desert Radiology was to re-institute a collaboration that allowed UNLV’s second-year radiography students to get more experience in the imaging and outpatient setting at Desert Radiology’s clinics.

UNLV’s radiography program graduates about 24 students each year. According to Hensley, every student is able to complete clinical rotations at Desert Radiology’s multiple locations.

“With Matt wanting to give back to the program that gave him his career, this close relationship makes it easier for him to give us a call and let us know that he wants to help,” Hensley said. “It speaks volumes of the quality of students we’re able to graduate.”

Hensley said having current students complete their clinical rotations with the technologists at Desert Radiology is paramount to producing highly skilled professionals ready to enter the workforce after graduation.

“Having a partner like Desert Radiology, which is a very strong force in outpatient imaging, gives our students a better experience to work in a variety of settings like outpatient imaging, acute care hospitals, trauma centers, and other additional settings,” Hensley said.

Michelle Webb, ’24 BS Radiography, works as a radiologic technologist at Desert Radiology. She said the peer-mentor opportunities provided by the collaboration bolstered her skills as a student, which eventually led to full-time employment after she graduated.

“Learning from the technologists at Desert Radiology opened a new level of appreciation for the field. The technologists were very understanding that as a student, I did not have much experience taking x-rays,” she said. “My clinical time at Desert Radiology allowed me to perform all the complete views for imaging different body parts. I was able to perform special views that, up to that point, I had only read from my textbook and learned in anatomy and positioning.”

Desert Radiology also recently donated two pieces of equipment to the radiography program: a portable x-ray unit and a C-Arm fluoroscopy machine, most commonly used in operating rooms, surgery centers, and endoscopy suites.

“The radiologists rely on the technologists more than other modalities, so I think that’s the benefit of having that equipment for students to use in the lab. It makes them more comfortable,” Grimes said.

Webb said the combination of learning in the classroom and the hands-on opportunities afforded at the clinic have given her the confidence she needs to feel successful in her role as a full-time technologist.

“I truly enjoy the patient interactions I have,” she said. “I can do a chest x-ray and in those 2 to 5 minutes I'm with my patient. I'm able to listen to their brief history as to why they're doing the exam, and then keep the conversations going to complete the exam with ease. I credit my patient-care skills to what I've learned in the multiple classes I took while in the radiography program. Through and through, I've had a pretty good experience transitioning from student to rad tech.”

Grimes is encouraged hearing stories from Webb and other UNLV graduates who have benefited tremendously from the partnership with Desert Radiology. As an alumnus, he takes pride in seeing the program, and ultimately the Las Vegas Valley’s slate of healthcare professionals, flourish from this collaboration.

“Having students here with our technologists fosters a very strong and loyal work environment,” he said. “We’ve found that students who start with us are 20- to 30-year teammates. If they start out with us, they’re more likely to stay.”