Clinical preparedness programme as perceived by first-year diagnostic radiography students in South Africa.

INTRODUCTION: There is an increasing emphasis on exploring ways to improve students' transition from the classroom into the clinical environment. Diagnostic radiography (DR) students undergo rigorous theoretical and practical training before they are exposed to the clinical environment. It has been found that when DR students commence clinical learning in the workplace for the very first time, they experience difficulties in this transition. At the site of investigation, a newly integrated and dedicated clinical preparedness (CP) programme was offered; however, little is known about the DR students' perceptions of this programme. METHODS: A qualitative approach coupled with a self-developed, cross-sectional research tool was employed. First-year DR students were purposefully sampled against the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The principle of voluntary participation was upheld throughout the data collection process. The data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's six steps of thematic analysis. RESULTS: Forty-two responses were collected. Following a thematic analysis, two overarching themes were developed, namely: (1) reflections on the CP programme and (2) suggestions for future CP programmes. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the need for effective CP programmes as an approach to ease the transition of first-year DR students from the classroom into the clinical environment. Several suggestions, for example, an extended CP programme and a clinical information pack were made for the offering of similar programmes in the future.

An educator's reflections on service learning as an approach to produce socially responsive medical imaging and therapeutic sciences graduates.

INTRODUCTION: Producing socially responsive graduates is a challenge within the undergraduate training of healthcare professionals. The role of the educator is to prepare the students for work in various community settings. An approach through which this can be done, is known as service learning (SL). SL allows students an opportunity to apply their newly gained knowledge to real-life projects. AIM: To reflect on how social responsiveness can be instilled within a South African medical imaging and therapeutic sciences curriculum. METHOD AND DISCUSSION: The Gibbs' Reflective Cycle was utilised to draw on and describe the educator's experience as a facilitator of SL. A conceptual model was developed, depicting the different phases that the educator embarks on whilst facilitating a SL community project. The reflections presented in this paper is based on the educator's own experience. No primary data is presented. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: As an educator and facilitator of SL, I have learnt that it is critical to adopt a hands-on approach whereby you have to step in and support/ motivate the students on a regular basis. Graduates can use this experience to improve their patient care practices within the clinical environment. The need to explore the students' perspectives on the conceptual model and their overall SL experience is deemed necessary to enhance the facilitation of future projects.