Registration Examination Assessment (REA) Path to Registration
If you do not hold a qualification that is approved as being substantially equivalent to the New Zealand qualification prescribed by the Board for that particular scope of practice, but do have significant clinical experience in the relevant scope of practice, the Board may offer you an opportunity to sit a registration examination assessment (REA) as a path to gaining registration in New Zealand. "Significant clinical experience" is defined as a minimum of 2 years (fulltime equivalent) clinical experience that involves a range of procedures and equipment.
The REA allows you to work under supervision at a clinical site approved by the Board for a period of 3 months to allow you time to become familiar with the protocols procedures and equipment of the particular clinical department. Following this familiarisation period you will undergo a one-day examination assessment.
You will be given a 12-month period within which to take up the offer of a REA. The Board may consider an extension to this acceptance period. Should you require an extension to taking up the offer of a REA, you must apply to the Board and your request will be considered by the Board according to your individual circumstances. PLEASE NOTE if you are seeking an extension to the offer to take a REA, you must apply to the Board before your current REA offer expires. You must also provide a valid reason as to why you require the extension, and the Board may ask you to provide them with documented supporting evidence.
If you are approved for a REA, you will be sent notification in writing which will include an application for you to complete, a list of approved training clinical sites, and a copy of the competency documents relevant to the scope of practice for which you are applying for registration.
It will be your responsibility to secure a placement at one of the Board-approved clinical sites where you will undertake the familiarisation period and the examination assessment itself.
You will need to ensure you are eligible to work in New Zealand. If you live overseas you may need to apply to the New Zealand Immigration Department for a work visa prior to coming to New Zealand to undertake your 3-month familiaristation period. The Board is unable to advise you on your eligibility status to work in New Zealand, or what is required for gaining a work visa. You can get this information from the New Zealand Immigration Department www.immigration.govt.nz
You will also need to meet the Board's English language requirements. If your medical radiation technology training was carried out in a language other than English, you will need to provide the Board with evidence that you are proficient in English, prior to registration being approved. This can be done through either providing your results of an assessment using the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or two testimonials from English-speaking supervisors stating you can communicate effectively in English in the medical imaging environment. The Board accepts results in the academic version of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). You must attain an overall score of no less than 7.5, and band scores of no less than 7 in any category of the academic version of the IELTS.
Once you have a confirmed placement at a clinical site and the name of the person who will be supervising you throughout the REA process you must notify the Board and pay the required fee of $2000. This fee cover the costs of the REA and the assessment cannot be undertaken until the Board has receipt of this payment. Please note that this fee is non-refundable.
During your period of familiarisation you will required to work under the supervision of a registered medical radiation technologist who holds a current practising certificate in the scope of practice for which you are seeking registration. At no time during your familiarisation period will you be permitted to work unsupervised and you will not be permitted to work on the clinical site's on-call roster. You will be required to complete both a logbook and a module on New Zealand legislation and these must be submitted to the Board prior to the day of your examination assessment. See link at bottom of this page to download a copy of the Board's Working Under Supervision policy.
It is important for you to understand that this 3-month familiarisation period is not a period of learning. The purpose of the REA is for you to demonstrate to the Board that you already have the skills to meet the minimum requirements for registration as a medical radiation technologist (for the relevant scope of practice) in New Zealand. The 3-month period is to give you an opportunity to become familiar with the particular protocols, procedures and equipment of the clinical site where you are undertaking your REA.
Prior to sitting the examination assessment your supervisor will need to notify the Board that you are ready to sit the REA. That is, you have completed the familiarisation period and observed a satisfactory number and range of patients and procedures.
On the day of the examination assessment you will be assigned a number of clinical procedures to conduct and will be observed by two Board-approved REA assessors. You will also be required to respond to a number of questions from the assessors. The assessment will focus on your ability to meet all of the competencies (as detailed in the competency documents sent to you when you were offered a REA) in the relevant scope of scope of practice in any medical environment in New Zealand.
The REA assessors then write a report for the Board, detailing the outcomes of your examination assessment including a conclusion as to whether or not you meet the required minimum competencies for registration in the relevant scope of practice.
The Board then makes a final decision as to whether or not you will be approved for New Zealand registration in the profession of medical radiation technology (in the relevant scope of practice).
Should you be unsuccessful in meeting the requirements of the REA, you may appeal to the Board for a reconsideration of the results of the examination assessment and may request an opportunity to re-sit the examination assessment.
A re-sit of a REA will only be granted if there is an indication the REA process has been compromised in some way. The Board's Registration Examination Assessment Committee has the delegated authority to decide whether or not a re-sit of a REA will be approved.
Factors that may give rise to the Registration Examination Committee approving a re-sit include:
- A compromised period of familiarisation/orientation at the clinical site.
- Lack of opportunity to experience a full range of examinations during the familiarisation/orientation period. The Board may defer a REA if this is indicated in the candidate's logbook that is forwarded to the Board prior to the REA date.
- Insufficient supervision during the familiarisation/orientation period.
- Inappropriate site for conducting the REA and/or familiarisation/orientation period due to the range of examinations available.
- Lack of a full range of examinations available on the day of the assessment.
- Equipment or software malfunction.
- Unprofessional approach by assessors when conducting the REA.
- Deficits in the administrative components of the REA process.
- Extenuating circumstances resulting in a delay to the commencement of the REA.
