WP6 – Understanding the importance and applicability of circular economy in radiotherapy and relevant aspects to include in radiographers’ educating

Radiographers require a wide array of skills in order to undertake their professional duties to the highest possible standards in today’s ever-changing world. Since the courses are often focused in patient care, a crucial, yet often overlooked, subset of these skills is related to the protection of the environment and the undertaking of sustainable professional practices (green-skills), all of which fall under the general remit of the circular economy. This includes a wide variety of activities, from waste minimisation and recycling to the use of energy-efficient equipment. The importance of adopting circular economy practices in radiation therapy lies not simply in the protection and preservation of the natural environment and its scarce resources, but also in the tangible cost savings that can be attained as a result of such initiatives, due to lower energy costs, input and material usage, etc. allowing for these funds to be directed to treat more and better cancer patients.

It is therefore vital to firstly understand the circular economy skill requirements of TR in order to provide a more comprehensive educational experience. This requires a comprehensive and suitable analysis of the work and educational process done by radiographers, since this will help us to answer the question concerning existing gaps in the profile of TR in terms of current labour market expectations. In this manner, we shall be able to take into account the major trends in radiotherapy development and main drivers of change in the sector, which in turn will allow us to provide a grounded and realistic assessment of the importance of the circular economy in a TR professional profile, and thus identify the educational needs within this context.

In this work package, we started off with a review of existing TRs’ educational programmes also fed by WP3 in order to assess what is currently being taught with regards to the circular economy and sustainability. We also reviewed the literature on circular economy practices within the healthcare sector, with a special focus on radiotherapy and those activities that can easily be adapted to this sector. Concurrently, we analysed the TRs’ labour market and its growing requirements with regards to circular economy skills for prospective professionals in the field. The correlation between circular education levels and market expectations will serve to highlight gaps in the profile of prospective radiographers and their real-world training needs. Furthermore, we used a variety of advanced analytical tools like process mapping in order to show aspects of the radiographers’ activities where circular economy knowledge and initiatives can be useful for people working in this field. This assisted in the development of new circular economy-oriented educational programmes specifically tailored to radiographers which can then be assessed throughout Europe to enhance the skill set of graduate radiographers.