Mrs Rosanna Sutton
Research
I will be completing my professional doctorate in education (EdD) at Cardiff University, School of Social Sciences this year (2013).
The title of my thesis is: Learning to become a therapeutic radiographer: first clinical placement challenges
Clinical education is an essential component in the process of becoming a qualified therapeutic radiographer. But do present degree courses prepare students adequately for their first clinical placement? There is a substantial body of knowledge in the medical and nursing professions, which examines students’ perceptions of clinical pedagogy, their professional socialization, and how their perceptions change during their training. This study builds on the literature and demonstrates that parallels can be drawn from the field of therapeutic radiography.
The focus of this research was first year radiotherapy students on their first clinical placement. It explored the professional socialisation of these new recruits, identifying the barriers and challenges – the dramas that they faced in what was for them an alien environment. It also examined the students’ perceptions of clinical pedagogy (teaching and assessment), as they learned to become therapeutic radiographers. Data from students was complimented by data from the radiographers. This helped to develop the picture of clinical pedagogy in the current climate of healthcare delivery.
I am currently in the process of organizing collaborative research with the University of Malta, which examines how Maltese students are socialized within radiotherapy practice whilst on clinical placement in Wales (these students are registered as Cardiff University students, as Cardiff University has a contractual agreement with the University of Malta in delivering the radiotherapy element of their radiography degree). It also examines how these students perceive clinical pedagogy and the barriers and challenges they may face when spending part of their clinical training in a different country.