About the National Breast Imaging Academy programme
Breast imaging services across the UK are facing significant challenges in delivery and sustainability as a result of the combination of increasing demand for breast imaging and shortages across all aspects of the workforce.
The National Breast Imaging Academy (NBIA) is a collaborative, national, multidisciplinary initiative which encompasses a range of solutions to address these issues. These include the establishment of a national centre of excellence for training, the development of high-quality training programmes for radiographers, radiologists and breast clinicians and an innovative, online technology-enhanced learning platform; the NBIA Online. The Academy team is also working to raise the profile of a career in breast imaging and to promote excellence across all aspects of the specialty.
If you would like further information or to get involved in any aspect of the National Breast Imaging Academy programme, then please visit www.nationalbreastimagingacademy.org or contact the Academy team on breastacademy@mft.nhs.uk.
A central element of the National Breast Imaging Academy initiative is the delivery of a multidisciplinary, technology enhanced learning platform to provide training, support and continuing professional development for all breast imaging staff. The three main components of the NBIA Online are:
- a National Breast Imaging Academy e-Learning for Healthcare (elfh) programme written by UK experts, providing comprehensive coverage of all aspects of breast imaging and relevant aspects of surgery, oncology, pathology, nursing, and risk and prevention for both trainees and qualified staff. There are 150 e-learning sessions available, which will be reviewed and updated on a rolling basis.
- a national breast imaging case archive, developed by the National Breast Imaging Academy in collaboration with the Scientific Computing team at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust. This will contain tens of thousands of validated cases that will be available to all UK breast imagers to support and enhance learning
- a national online learning community with further resources to complement the elfh programme and provide mentoring and support to trainees and staff. Online tutorials and webinars are being uploaded to the Learning Hub to support training.
Here are just a few examples of the sessions available:
- Clinical Presentations – Breast Lump
- Working on a Mobile Unit
- Tips for Reading Screening Mammograms
- Screening – Women’s Experiences
- Breast Imaging in Pregnancy and Lactation
- Day in the Life of a Clinical Oncologist
Meet the team
- Megan Bydder, Clinical Lead, National Breast Imaging Academy
- Sara Bundred, Breast Clinician Subject Lead, National Breast Imaging Academy
- Lyndsay Kinnear, Joint Radiography Subject Lead, National Breast Imaging Academy
- Rachel Laming, Joint Radiography Subject Lead, National Breast Imaging Academy
- Alice Leaver, Joint Radiology Subject Lead, National Breast Imaging Academy
- Simon Lowes, Joint Radiology Subject Lead, National Breast Imaging Academy
- Harry Weber-Brown, Programme Manager, Technology Enhanced Learning, NHS England
- Jen Van Iwaarden, Senior Project Manager, Technology Enhanced Learning, NHS England
- Catriona Ramsay, Learning Designer, Technology Enhanced Learning, NHS England