Alumni, radiographers, clinical placement tutors and industry insights about current radiographers practice, competences and autonomy in western Switzerland.

INTRODUCTION: Radiographers' profession is constantly evolving, which demands adaptation of education and training programs to build up medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals (MIRTPs) that provide healthcare to improve patient experience and outcomes. This study aimed to map radiographers' practices, competences, and autonomy level in Western Switzerland. METHODS: Data was collected by 2 cross-sectional online surveys targeting Alumni, radiographers, clinical placement tutors and medical imaging equipment specialists from industry, with opened and closed-end questions. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: 81 Alumni and 93 Chief-Radiographers, clinical tutors, practitioner-radiographers and industry answered the questionnaires. The competences considered as the most "acquired or completely acquired" by the Alumni were: adopt a reflective posture on practice (90.1 %; 73/81), adopt ethical behaviour (90.1 %; 73/81), carrying out and providing radiological services for diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive purposes (81.5 %; 68/81), adapting communication to the other surrounding persons (81.5 %; 66/81), and check compliance of procedures with standards (69.1 %; 56/81). Similar results were referred by Employers. The autonomy of the participant radiographers was considered as average, and it focuses only the preparation of the patient and the protocol optimisation. The development and integration of research is weak as well as the application of competences regarding professionalism. CONCLUSIONS: A better link between educational institutions and clinical practice can help on the integration of research and evidence-based on practice, necessary to progress the radiographers' profession in Western Switzerland. The autonomy needs to be further developed and leadership courses must be integrated in the curricula to facilitate the implementation of new approaches to reinforce radiographer's profession. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Practice must be revised to integrate evidence-based; to facilitate research development, the managers need to increase support.

A comparative study about motivations, expectations and future plans for professional development in four European radiography programs.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to compare motivations, expectations and work plans of students and teaching-staff from four different European radiography programs, it aims also to explore areas that could be included to advance post graduate studies. METHODS: Two different questionnaires (open- and closed-end questions) were applied to key-informants, students who had just completed their bachelor thesis and teaching-staff, to collect data regarding motivations, expectations, challenges and potentials for radiography education and, plans for further work. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were performed according to the nature of the questions. RESULTS: The response rates were 45% (students) and 68% (teaching-staff). The motivations to study radiography were similar between students: to work in a healthcare-service, helping people, manipulating high-end technologies, providing service while combining different knowledge (physics, patient-care, physiology, anatomy). 75% of the students did not reach all their expectations due to the lack of focused and updated content for some areas. The teaching-staff were expecting an extension of the radiographers' role. The development of advance studies in computed tomography and magnetic resonance was highlighted as important by students. Future work plans included: self-improvement, continuation of studies, specialization, research and collaborations. CONCLUSIONS: This study increased the understanding of radiography education and provides insights into future perspectives. Participants have similar motivations, expectations and future plans. Improvements in education should focus on technological developments and meeting job market demands. Further studies should be performed to identify approaches that acknowledge the specific needs of each country, while also providing strategies to harmonize radiography education in Europe.

Curricula, attributes and clinical experiences of radiography programs in four European educational institutions.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to compare radiography curricula, teaching/learning strategies, skill development, clinical practice outcomes and research development delivered by four European educational institutions. METHODS: This study was carried out in two phases: the first focused on curricula analysis; the second involved online questionnaires to ascertain data from two key-informants: students who had recently completed their bachelor thesis and teaching-staff. Questionnaires were designed to capture teaching and learning strategies, skill acquisition and outcomes of clinical practice and research. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were performed according to the nature of the questions. RESULTS: The European Credits Transfer System dedicated per core subject area (natural sciences, clinical practice, research, imaging technology, humanities) differed between institutions. Students classified technical, practical and communication skills as the most important, teaching-staff highlighted also critical thinking. The students defined as "very good" their experience in radiography (58.5%) and computed-tomography (45%). Magnetic resonance imaging practice was considered "Average" by 53% of the UK-students and "Good" by the other European students (40%). According to 71% (55/78) of the students, research work contributed to the development of critical/reflective thinking. CONCLUSIONS: The four radiography programs presented variations in curricula, contact-hours, clinical experience and outcomes. Research units allowed the participant-students to develop their critical thinking capabilities. The outcomes from clinical practice differ across the institutions, mainly due to differences in background and access to specialities. Further work is necessary to assess the real impact of different radiography programs on professional and academic mobility across Europe.

Design and Evaluation of a Novel Haptic Interface for Endoscopic Simulation.

Inspection of the colon with an endoscope for early signs of cancer (colonoscopy) has become an extremely widespread procedure, since early treatment radically improves the outlook of patients. The procedure requires a close coordination between the sense of touch and vision to navigate the endoscope along the colon. This raises the need to develop efficient training methods for physicians. Training simulators based on virtual reality, where realistic graphics are combined with a mechatronic system providing haptic feedback, are alternative to traditional training methods. To provide physicians with realistic haptic sensations of an endoscopic procedure, we have designed a haptic interface, instrumented a clinical endoscope and combined them with a simulation software for colonoscopy. In this contribution, we present the mechatronic components of the simulator. The haptic interface is able to generate high forces using the combination of electrical motors and brakes in a compact design. Experiments were performed to determine the characteristics of the device. A model-based control has been implemented and the results show that the control successfully compensates for the device nonlinearities, such as friction. The proposed haptic interface, together with the virtual reality, form a highly realistic training simulator for endoscopic surgeons, applicable not only to colonoscopy, but also to similar interventions.