Radiography Students’ Learning During Clinical Placements: Developing Professional Knowing in Practice

Abstract

Radiographers work with image production in medical imaging, a professional field that is undergoing rapid technical development. There is a need to understand how students in radiography education learn within this evolving practice. The aim of this paper is to investigate how radiography students learn professional knowledge in practice during clinical placements. Data collection was through qualitative design using observations and individual interviews. The theoretical framework for the study was a practice-orientated approach. Three themes describing the learning in practice of radiography students emerged as the final result. 1) Attuning to practice: Learning through listening and observing showed how students reconstruct prior knowledge into practical knowing and learn the situated practice. 2) Embodied knowing: Learning through acting in practice illustrated how students reconstructed prior embodied knowledge through their own acting in practice. 3) Dealing with the unexpected: Learning from breakdowns explains how students learn in situations in which unexpected things happen with materiality or relations. On these occasions, relationships with other people were important for developing the students’ knowing about the relationship between materiality, actions and people practicing radiography. This study it gives insight into radiography students’ learning during clinical placement, which can be useful for planning curricula, as well as clinical learning in radiography education.

Clinical indications for plain abdominal radiographs: A survey study among radiographers

“…Most participants had an average to high knowledge score ( n = 71; 83.5%), with a mean knowledge score of 59.412, which was in the category of average to high (> 50). Although average to high knowledge scores is generally regarded a good thing, there is scope for further increasing knowledge levels to enhance practice levels and subsequently service levels and improved patient outcomes (Lundvall, Dahlström & Dahlgren 2021 ). For example, enhanced knowledge of radiographers regarding clinical indications for plain abdominal radiographic examinations has been found to assist with optimisation of image quality and, subsequently, an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment (Alsleem et al 2019 ).…”

Qualitative content analysis of image interpretation education in UK pre-registration diagnostic radiography programmes

“…Within this study, the scaffolding and articulation of image interpretation education between theory and practice within the clinical setting was typically not implicit. Prior research by Lundvall et al 7 highlights the essential role of clinical placement learning as part of the educational journey for evolving practice and development of embodied knowledge. Clinical practice is a critical learning environment for learning in action and helps students to transfer knowledge and skill to unfamiliar or unexpected situations.…”

How Can We Sustain the Training Quality of Radiologic Technology Students During COVID-19 Outbreaks: A Lesson from Vietnam

“…2,8,9 Clinical instructions for radiologic technology students have traditionally been mainly carried out directly in the radiology departments, directly on patients. 10 Most students are concerned with radiation safety and medical ethics in the early days of patient contact. 11,12 During the COVID-19 outbreak, many universities remained closed for unprecedentedly long periods.…”