ePortfolios: Enhancing confidence in student radiographers' communication of radiographic anatomy and pathology. A cross‐sectional study

Abstract Introduction In 2020, the Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia made several revisions to its professional capabilities. To address this, medical radiation practitioners, including diagnostic radiographers, are required to escalate urgent findings in all radiographic settings. Howev...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Magdalena Dolic, Yaxuan Peng, Keshav Dhingra, Kristal Lee, John McInerney
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-09-01
Series:Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/jmrs.787
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849221208313167872
author Magdalena Dolic
Yaxuan Peng
Keshav Dhingra
Kristal Lee
John McInerney
author_facet Magdalena Dolic
Yaxuan Peng
Keshav Dhingra
Kristal Lee
John McInerney
author_sort Magdalena Dolic
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Introduction In 2020, the Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia made several revisions to its professional capabilities. To address this, medical radiation practitioners, including diagnostic radiographers, are required to escalate urgent findings in all radiographic settings. However, the confidence of radiographers in articulating descriptions of radiographic findings varies despite this requirement. This cross‐sectional study explores how the implementation of eportfolio affects student self‐perceived confidence in identifying and describing radiographic findings in both an academic and a clinical setting. Methods A Qualtrics survey was distributed to second‐year radiography students who had used eportfolios. The survey comprised of four questions using a Likert‐scale and one open‐ended question. Quantitative data were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed‐rank test and qualitative data was thematically assessed. Results Overall, 55 of 65 radiographic students (85%) completed the survey. Confidence (strongly agree and agree) decreased from 89% to 74% between academic and clinical environments when identifying abnormalities, and 89% to 73% when describing findings. This finding highlights the challenges students face when in the clinical environment. Wilcoxon signed rank test analysed a statistically significant relation between the two environments (P < 0.05). However, the relationship between identifying and describing skills was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Following a review of the qualitative data, three recurring themes were identified among responses. Conclusion ePortfolios assist in improving confidence in identification and description of radiographic abnormalities, particularly in an academic setting. The clinical environment presents unique challenges which may limit student clinical performance; however, this requires further investigation.
format Article
id doaj-art-ca6fcfce966d4a4aa311dcbef81e6ca6
institution Kabale University
issn 2051-3895
2051-3909
language English
publishDate 2024-09-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences
spelling doaj-art-ca6fcfce966d4a4aa311dcbef81e6ca62024-11-17T12:05:17ZengWileyJournal of Medical Radiation Sciences2051-38952051-39092024-09-0171340341110.1002/jmrs.787ePortfolios: Enhancing confidence in student radiographers' communication of radiographic anatomy and pathology. A cross‐sectional studyMagdalena Dolic0Yaxuan Peng1Keshav Dhingra2Kristal Lee3John McInerney4Monash University Clayton Victoria AustraliaMonash University Clayton Victoria AustraliaMonash University Clayton Victoria AustraliaMonash University Clayton Victoria AustraliaMonash University Clayton Victoria AustraliaAbstract Introduction In 2020, the Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia made several revisions to its professional capabilities. To address this, medical radiation practitioners, including diagnostic radiographers, are required to escalate urgent findings in all radiographic settings. However, the confidence of radiographers in articulating descriptions of radiographic findings varies despite this requirement. This cross‐sectional study explores how the implementation of eportfolio affects student self‐perceived confidence in identifying and describing radiographic findings in both an academic and a clinical setting. Methods A Qualtrics survey was distributed to second‐year radiography students who had used eportfolios. The survey comprised of four questions using a Likert‐scale and one open‐ended question. Quantitative data were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed‐rank test and qualitative data was thematically assessed. Results Overall, 55 of 65 radiographic students (85%) completed the survey. Confidence (strongly agree and agree) decreased from 89% to 74% between academic and clinical environments when identifying abnormalities, and 89% to 73% when describing findings. This finding highlights the challenges students face when in the clinical environment. Wilcoxon signed rank test analysed a statistically significant relation between the two environments (P < 0.05). However, the relationship between identifying and describing skills was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Following a review of the qualitative data, three recurring themes were identified among responses. Conclusion ePortfolios assist in improving confidence in identification and description of radiographic abnormalities, particularly in an academic setting. The clinical environment presents unique challenges which may limit student clinical performance; however, this requires further investigation.https://doi.org/10.1002/jmrs.787eportfoliosimage interpretationradiographer commentingradiography education delivery
spellingShingle Magdalena Dolic
Yaxuan Peng
Keshav Dhingra
Kristal Lee
John McInerney
ePortfolios: Enhancing confidence in student radiographers' communication of radiographic anatomy and pathology. A cross‐sectional study
Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences
eportfolios
image interpretation
radiographer commenting
radiography education delivery
title ePortfolios: Enhancing confidence in student radiographers' communication of radiographic anatomy and pathology. A cross‐sectional study
title_full ePortfolios: Enhancing confidence in student radiographers' communication of radiographic anatomy and pathology. A cross‐sectional study
title_fullStr ePortfolios: Enhancing confidence in student radiographers' communication of radiographic anatomy and pathology. A cross‐sectional study
title_full_unstemmed ePortfolios: Enhancing confidence in student radiographers' communication of radiographic anatomy and pathology. A cross‐sectional study
title_short ePortfolios: Enhancing confidence in student radiographers' communication of radiographic anatomy and pathology. A cross‐sectional study
title_sort eportfolios enhancing confidence in student radiographers communication of radiographic anatomy and pathology a cross sectional study
topic eportfolios
image interpretation
radiographer commenting
radiography education delivery
url https://doi.org/10.1002/jmrs.787
work_keys_str_mv AT magdalenadolic eportfoliosenhancingconfidenceinstudentradiographerscommunicationofradiographicanatomyandpathologyacrosssectionalstudy
AT yaxuanpeng eportfoliosenhancingconfidenceinstudentradiographerscommunicationofradiographicanatomyandpathologyacrosssectionalstudy
AT keshavdhingra eportfoliosenhancingconfidenceinstudentradiographerscommunicationofradiographicanatomyandpathologyacrosssectionalstudy
AT kristallee eportfoliosenhancingconfidenceinstudentradiographerscommunicationofradiographicanatomyandpathologyacrosssectionalstudy
AT johnmcinerney eportfoliosenhancingconfidenceinstudentradiographerscommunicationofradiographicanatomyandpathologyacrosssectionalstudy