The education of TR varies across Europe with different competencies required for registration in different countries. In the UK, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) has established the curriculum standards for educational institutions to adhere to. These standards include the Standards of Education and Training (SETs) and the Standards of Proficiency for Radiographers (SoPs). The purpose of these standards is to ensure that TR who complete the educational programme meet HCPC standards for their professional skills and knowledge, and are fit to practise. All educational institutions in the UK design their course curricula ensuring the SETs and SoPs are delivered throughout the duration of the course. In addition to this, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education Benchmark statement: Radiography helps ensures a harmonious delivery of educational standards across the UK resulting in a uniform TR workforce. Further guidelines provided by the Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) identify the Education and Career Framework for the Radiography Workforce in the UK, however, it is important to note that these guidelines are generic and do not identify the knowledge, skills or competencies in finite detail. These guidelines are also only applicable in the UK and great variation exists with similar policies/guidelines applied across the EU. Standardisation of educational frameworks would ensure a standard of high quality care is delivered to all patients across all member states of the EU.
The aim of this work package was to investigate and identify the perceptions of patients/service users on the role and skills of TR. The study determined if patients perceive any gaps in the knowledge, skills or competencies of these professionals and highlight areas for improvement.
On the basis of evidence collection, it was the objective of this work package to design a proposal to address these skills gaps by identifying competencies which should be included within the education curriculum of TR across Europe.
Ulster University – UU (UK)
All results of this WP5 are available in the outputs section
Publication of patients’ perceptions regarding the competencies of the TRs. The assessment of the results of the study related to the patients’ perceptions of the competencies of the TR was submited to a peer-reviewed open-access scientific journal.
A fact-sheet was also be constructed for publication on the website.
The results of the research will also be disseminated through presentations at international conferences.
Dr Sonyia Mc Fadden Dr Ciara Hughes Dr Patricia McClure