Does CPET meet clinical needs?

The technical and political changes that have occurred in diagnostic imaging have created immense changes in the education of radiographers, both pre-registration and post-registration. The variety of courses available has extended, but there has been little or no research to look at the effect those courses have on clinical practice.

This paper presents a project that involved 150 radiographers selected at random from the CPSM (Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine) register. Questionnaires were sent to establish the perceived requirements of the radiographers and the perceived effectiveness of courses attended. Open questions were included to gain some in-depth information for qualitative analysis.

Using statistical analysis on the questionnaires and theme analysis on the qualitative answers, the data showed that virtually all radiographers thought that CPET was valuable, with 46% feeling it should be compulsory. Full-time radiographers from higher grades tend to be doing more CPET than part-timers or more junior staff. In addition to professionally relevant CPET, those radiographers who were showing active involvement were also more likely to be undertaking courses not related to radiography in their own time.

The paper recommends that:
• an in-depth analysis be conducted into the effectiveness of continuing education, with respect to actual change in clinical practice and
• radiographers should be given more guidance in choosing courses that fit into their career plans.