PETITION TO THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF RADIOLOGY

Update MRI Staffing Guidelines for Children's Hospitals, Trauma Centers, and Patients Requiring Anesthesia

We, the undersigned healthcare professionals, patients, families, and supporters, urge the American College of Radiology (ACR) to update its MRI staffing guidelines to better protect patients and healthcare workers in Children's Hospitals, Level I Trauma Centers, and MRI departments caring for patients under anesthesia or sedation.

Current ACR recommendations were intended as minimum standards, but many healthcare organizations use them as staffing targets. This often results in MRI departments operating with the lowest possible staffing levels, even when caring for high-acuity patients.

Current guidelines do not adequately address MRI exams involving:

Severely injured trauma patients
Children requiring hands-on assistance or immobilization
Patients under anesthesia or sedation
Multiple caregivers and medical teams
Life-support equipment and continuous monitoring
Medical emergencies requiring immediate response
In many facilities, staff who are transporting patients or performing duties outside the MRI area may still be counted toward staffing levels, leaving MRI technologists to manage patient care, MRI safety, scanner operation, team coordination, and emergencies simultaneously. 

Support personnel—including MRI technologist assistants, clerical staff, nursing staff, transporters, and other non-licensed personnel—should not be counted toward the required MRI technologist staffing ratio. While these team members provide valuable support, they cannot substitute for a qualified, licensed MRI technologist responsible for scanner operation, MRI safety, patient monitoring, and emergency response. Staffing standards must reflect the number of qualified technologists physically present and immediately available, not simply the total number of personnel in or around the MRI department.

These conditions increase the risk of delays, errors, staff injury, and patient harm.

We call on the ACR to establish clear staffing standards for:

Pediatric MRI programs
MRI exams performed under anesthesia or sedation
Level I Trauma Center MRI services
Critically ill patients requiring advanced monitoring and support
At a minimum, these standards should require two MRI technologists to be physically present and immediately available during high-acuity MRI examinations, with additional support staff provided as patient needs require.

Patient safety standards should reflect the realities of modern MRI care—not minimum staffing levels designed to reduce costs.

No MRI technologist should be forced to choose between operating the scanner and responding to a patient emergency. High-acuity MRI requires high-acuity staffing.

By signing this petition, you support stronger MRI staffing standards that put patient safety first.