📢 Board Licensure Examination for X-ray Technology (BLEXT) EXAM ALERT! The X-Ray Technologists Licensure Examination in the Philippines is scheduled for December 11 & 12, 2025. The target release of exam results is December 17, 2025.
For the X-Ray Technologists Licensure Examination (BLEXT) in the Philippines, technical skill is only half the equation. The other half is demonstrating the professional conduct, ethical responsibility, and legal boundaries that protect both the patient and your license. This $25\%$ portion of the exam is essential for proving you are ready for practice.
1. Patient Care and Emergency Management
The X-Ray Department is a controlled environment, but the patients are often acutely ill, frail, or in trauma. Your non-technical skills are critical here.
A. Safe Transfer Techniques
Proper patient transfer is a primary safety issue, preventing injury to the patient and the technologist.
- Wheelchair to Table:
- Place the wheelchair parallel to the table.
- Lock the wheels and move the footrests out of the way.
- Assist the patient in pivoting to stand, using a gait belt if necessary, and having them use the table for support.
- Crucial Rule: Never allow a patient to stand if they have weight-bearing restrictions or are not cleared to ambulate.
- Stretcher to Table (Immobile/Trauma):
- Adjust the stretcher and the X-ray table to the same height and lock both wheels.
- Use a transfer device (e.g., slider board, draw sheet) and multiple personnel (at least 2-3) to move the patient using a coordinated pull/push motion.
- Log Rolling: This technique is mandatory for patients with suspected spinal injuries to move the entire body as a single unit without flexing the spine.
B. Medical Emergencies (The ABCs)
You are often the first, and sometimes only, responder during a critical event. Your primary duty is to recognize the emergency and summon help.
- Syncope (Fainting): Most common emergency. Place the patient in the Trendelenburg position (head lower than feet) to increase blood flow to the brain.
- Shock: Characterized by rapid drop in blood pressure (Hypotension) and pale, cool, clammy skin. Follow the ABCs (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) and get immediate medical assistance.
- Contrast Reactions: While XRTs perform basic X-rays, you must know the signs of mild (hives, itching) and severe (anaphylaxis – throat swelling, bronchospasm) reactions, especially if assisting in contrast-enhanced procedures.
- Priority Action: For any unresolved emergency, your first action after ensuring the patient’s safety is to call the hospital’s medical emergency team (Code Team).
2. Professional Ethics and Jurisprudence (RA 7431)
This section tests your knowledge of the law that governs your practice and the professional code of conduct.
A. RA 7431 Refresher: The Scope of Practice
Republic Act No. 7431 (The Radiologic Technology Act of 1992) legally defines your limits:
- X-Ray Technologist (X.R.T.): Licensed to practice the “technical application of X-rays as an aid in the diagnosis of diseases and injuries.”
- Key Limitation: The XRT scope is limited primarily to diagnostic radiography (routine X-rays). It excludes advanced modalities like CT, MRI, Nuclear Medicine, and Radiation Therapy, which fall under the scope of the Radiologic Technologist (R.T.) license.
B. Confidentiality and Informed Consent
- Confidentiality (Data Privacy Act): You have an absolute ethical and legal duty to protect all sensitive personal information, including patient images, history, and diagnosis, as mandated by the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (RA 10173). Never share patient information verbally or electronically outside the necessary clinical context.
- Informed Consent: You must verify the patient’s identity and confirm the correct procedure. You are responsible for explaining how the procedure will be performed. However, the patient must be informed of the risks, benefits, and alternatives by the referring physician or radiologist—this is outside your scope.
3. The Absolute Boundary: Image Interpretation
This is the most crucial ethical and legal boundary in your profession.
- The Radiographer’s Role: Your legal and professional duty is to create the best possible diagnostic image while minimizing radiation dose (ALARA).
- The Radiologist’s Role: Image interpretation (diagnosis) is the exclusive domain of the Radiologist (a licensed physician).
- The Ethical Mandate: You MUST never interpret the image for the patient. Doing so constitutes the unauthorized practice of medicine and is grounds for license suspension or revocation.
Safe Response for the BLEXT: When a patient asks, “Is it broken?” your response must be reassuring but non-diagnostic: “I’ve checked the image quality, and it’s excellent. The Radiologist will review it and send the official report to your doctor for diagnosis and next steps.”
Mastering these professional duties ensures you adhere to the highest standards of safety, ethics, and jurisprudence required of a licensed X-Ray Technologist in the Philippines.