WP4 – Perception of European stakeholders on the linear accelerator radiographer competencies in view of the European market
This Work Package will build on this knowledge by assessing the perception of European stakeholders.The current EU education programme may not prepare radiographers for an EU-wide market since it mostly trains the students to comply with national needs and regulations. The results of WP 3 showed how relevant these differences are in regards to the competencies of the linear accelerator radiographers developed in European educational institutions. This WP4 built upon the knowledge from WP3 by assessing the perception of European stakeholders on the competency differences between countries, the mobility of professionals and the recognition of qualifications.
The main tool of this WP were interviews with stakeholders. Since it is not feasible to include all stakeholders from all European countries, extreme sampling (aka deviant sampling) was performed based on the results of WP3. This means that the most extreme cases were included in order to achieve a good picture of the differences existing in Europe.
For the individuals being interviewed, critical case sampling was used, where participants were identified as those who will provide the most information on the topic. Interviews with stakeholders were held during international conferences and meeting where therapy radiographers attend. This convenient sampling allowed us to achieve time and financial efficiency. However, this limited the number of interviewees. This was also affected by the COVID19 pandemic, which suspended face-to-face events. In view of this, additional individual and group interviews were performed virtually.
The interviews aimed to identify competencies that the stakeholders identify as necessary to undertake responsibility in administration of RT treatment in a linear accelerator. The interview also aimed to study the stakeholders’ perception of differences in education between countries, patient safety and the risk posed by the movement of these professionals across the EU and issues regarding recognition of qualifications. The results of WP3 were shared with the stakeholders during the interview in order to question the stakeholders about their interpretation of the results. Validity and Reliability tests were performed.
The stakeholders included:
- TRs (locals and migrants)
- Professional associations representatives
- Education institution representatives
- Radiotherapy department managers
- Students
The participation was on a volunteer basis. Inducements were offered to increase the participation. These inducements were in the form of a book vouchers.
The results of this work package were distributed to all stakeholders and regulatory bodies across the EU. These results raised awareness of current issues relevant to the profession and present the recommendations in regards to the competencies found necessary for the radiographers.
Lead organisation
University of Malta – UoM (MT)
Participating organisations
- Ulster University – UU (UK)
- European Federation of Radiographer Societies – EFRS (EU)
- Associação Portuguesa dos Radioterapeutas – ART (PT)
- Polskie Towarzystwo Elektroradiologii - PTE (PL)
- Society of Medical Radiographers (SRM)
Outputs
- Dissemination of results through publications and presentations on the perception of stakeholders regarding linear accelerator TRs’ competencies.
- Oral presentation of the results of the research on stakeholders’ perceptions regarding competencies developed in Europe, migration and recognition of qualifications.The results of the research will be disseminated through presentations at international conferences.
- A presentation of preliminary results may be done at national level.Oral presentations can reach less people than written publications but tend to be more effective in the spreading of results.The date and time of the presentation will be promoted on the consortium’s webpage, LinkedIn, Facebook page and Twitter
All publications or links are available on the outputs section, LinkedIn, Facebook page and consortium’s Twitter.
The results of the interviews regarding stakeholders’ perception on competencies differences, mobility and recognition of qualifications in Europe were published in a peer-reviewed open-access scientific journal.
The competencies identified as underdeveloped by the stakeholders were identified. It will then be fed into WP 10 where the underdeveloped competencies will be explored in a webinar series.
Donwload
Contacts
Dr Paul Bezzina
paul.bezzina@um.edu.mt
Dr Jose Guilherme Couto
jose.g.couto@um.edu.mt
Professor Ciara Hughes
cm.hughes@ulster.ac.uk
Dr Patricia McClure
pa.mcclure@ulster.ac.uk
Dr Sonyia McFadden
s.mcfadden@ulster.ac.uk