Clinical Imaging Archives - elearning for healthcare
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Inclusive practice in medical radiation safety elearning sessions now available

Posted on: December 7th, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

Two new elearning sessions have been developed to support the clinical imaging workforce to navigate the delivery of safe, effective, and equitable healthcare to the UK’s gender diverse population. Lynda Johnson, Professional Officer for Clinical Imaging and Radiation Protection, The Society and College of Radiographers (SoR), provides an overview of the sessions:

Since the SoR published Inclusive pregnancy status guidelines for ionising radiation: Diagnostic and therapeutic exposures in 2021, there has been an increase in the number of organisations actively seeking gender inclusive education and training for staff.

To support this work, and in recognition of the fact that inclusive practice is a matter for the wider workforce, the SoR produced a freely accessible dedicated webpage of resources. The opportunity to develop these two elearning sessions is a valuable and effective addition to promote and provide the most accessible learning materials to the whole clinical imaging workforce.

UK society reflects an array of gender diversities1. The modern clinical imaging workforce must strive to deliver services that do not make assumptions about gender and train staff to recognise people as individuals. Gender identity might be a sensitive and personal matter for staff and patients. Health and care professionals are required to display conduct that is non-discriminatory, and they must not allow personal views to affect their relationships with others or the care they provide2,3,4. How we steer our way through these complexities is determined by what we understand to be true. Gender diversity is a topic that seems to fascinate the British media, but sensationalised news stories are perhaps not the best source of truth.

The new elearning sessions, developed by experts with experience, lead the reader through the importance of respectful language and behaviours, respectful terminology, and the practical considerations of using the inclusive pregnancy checking forms and complying with the requirements of The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 20175 (2018 NI)6. The structured approach across two linked sessions is designed to give learners a deeper understanding of gender inequalities in healthcare and provides the tools and confidence to apply a more inclusive approach to care. The sessions can be accessed from a safe environment of choice and offer readers the time to assess their knowledge and reflect on valuable learning about this important topic.

Access the training:

The two new sessions can be accessed via the Clinical Imaging elearning programme.

References:

  1. Gender identity, England and Wales: Census 2021
  2. https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-conduct-performance-and-ethics/
  3. https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-proficiency/radiographers/
  4. https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/good-medical-practice—english-20200128_pdf-51527435.pdf
  5. The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 (legislation.gov.uk)
  6. The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)

Clinical Imaging – latest updates

Posted on: October 19th, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

It’s a busy time for the Clinical Imaging programme as we continue to create new content to help develop the skills of our workforce. Reviews and new development are, as always, our priority.

Dorothy Keane, Clinical Lead at the Society and College of Radiographers, gives a brief overview of updates that have been made to the resource.

Reminder: new Adult Pathology module

We recently launched our Adult Pathology module to enable recognition of bone or soft tissue changes on conventional radiographs. These sessions help you recognise a range of pathologies from arthritis, to gout, to malignant tumours. Our current development includes Paediatric Pathology, the importance of which is evident- identifying a malignant tumour early could save a life.

Coming soon

We are working on sessions which will support radiographers recognising pulmonary emboli in CT, sessions supporting overseas radiographers, and some covering latest developments in AI and inclusive practice in medical radiation safety.

We have always strived to focus unrelentingly on patients, keeping them at the centre of every decision we make. By developing the skills of radiographers we can be assured that patients receive care from professionals who have the required knowledge and skills to enhance and support the patient’s journey through the imaging department. By developing the skills of other health professionals who look at radiographs daily, be they junior doctors, nurses or allied health professionals, we further invest in patient care and safety.

Our regular reviews ensure that our sessions remain up to date to include new guidelines, procedures and protocols and current practice. This gives our programme the professional credibility which I’m sure is behind its success.

Accessing the training

To find out more and access the training, visit the Clinical Imaging programme page.

Adult Pathology and Orthopaedics updates to the Clinical Imaging elearning programme

Posted on: September 14th, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

Dorothy Keane, Clinical Lead at the Society and College of Radiographers, gives a brief overview of updates that have been made to our Clinical Imaging elearning programme.

The online training is free to access for healthcare staff and is the ideal resource to support all imaging staff.

Adult Pathology Sessions

“As radiographers, you are constantly looking at images of patients who have been referred from the emergency department, ward, outpatients, or a GP. Having the knowledge to recognise and identify bony changes which may represent a pathology will enable you to ‘flag’ the images to allow a faster report and quicker referral to a specialist”. Dorothy Keane, Clinical Lead

A new module has been developed to complement our Clinical Imaging programme. We have created 12 new sessions which give a general outline of a wide range of conditions and diseases and the related pathophysiological changes encountered on radiographs. These pathologies are commonly seen on radiographs and a knowledge of how bone and soft tissue changes manifest on radiographs will be discussed using images and diagrams. There is an opportunity to assess learning throughout each session which consist of 4 introductory sessions and 8 which focus on specific anatomical regions and discuss specific pathologies related to those regions.

Clinical Imaging – Orthopaedics

Have you looked at the 2 orthopaedic modules in elfh’s Clinical Imaging programme?

Our Orthopaedic Imaging modules explore follow-up images post orthopaedic surgery. The introductory session explains the post-operative plan for patients who have undergone orthopaedic procedures and why imaging is essential to assess the interventions.

Further sessions cover procedures involving the hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, ankle and foot, hand and wrist, long bones, vertebral column (spine) and pelvis in both emergency trauma and elective surgery. Each procedure is described with accompanying photographs of the prosthetics and instrumentation. The rationale for carrying out the procedure is discussed. Images are used to demonstrate post-procedure appearances and describe post-operative complications such as loosening of metalwork and infection.

The 2nd module, Orthopaedic Intervention, introduces the operating theatre outlining the environment, equipment, sterile procedures, infection control and staff roles. Radiographers often rotate into theatre and may have limited experience of certain procedures – this can, and often does, create an atmosphere of tension within the operating theatre for both the radiographer and the orthopaedic surgeons. These sessions have been designed to help prepare radiographers for theatre work. It provides detailed advice on the position and movements of the image intendifier for a range of orthopaedic procedure involving the upper and lower limbs and the vertebral column.

Accessing the training

To find out more and access the training, visit the Clinical Imaging programme page.

Marking MR Safety Week

Posted on: July 24th, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

MR safety is important all year round but this week focuses on patient and staff safety and advises on best practice.

The primary hazard in MRI is the very strong magnetic field that is produced by the MR scanner – and remember, for most MR scanners, this magnetic field is always on. There is a risk of metal objects becoming strongly attracted to the scanner forming dangerous projectiles, and implants such as heart pacemakers and aneurysm clips being adversely affected. Such incidents have led to serious injuries and fatalities. Implants and other potential contraindications present risks for patients undergoing MRI, therefore MR units must have policies and procedures in place for minimising these hazards.

There are 2 sessions in our Clinical Imaging elearning programme covering MR safety, which can be found in the module: Introduction to Imaging Technologies.

MR safety is covered in more detail in the MRI Safety programme which is structured around the needs of specific MR safety roles and explores the hazards associated with the use of MR equipment and offers guidance on best practice so as to protect patients and staff.

The Society of Radiographers has produced information leaflets relating to MRI safety for services to download, these include pause and check for MRI , safety information for patients, referrers and ward staff . These are all available on the society of radiographers website policy and guidance document library. Their publication Safety in Magnetic Resonance Imaging outlines the professional responsibilities, training, education and practical safety guidance for departments.

Updates to our Clinical Imaging elearning programme

Posted on: June 26th, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

Dorothy Keane, Clinical Lead at the Society of Radiographers, gives a brief overview of several updates that have been made to our Clinical Imaging elearning programme. The online training is free to access for healthcare staff and is the ideal resource to support all imaging staff.

To find out more and access the training, visit the Clinical Imaging programme page.

Nasogastric Tube Placement

In 2017, Clinical Imaging developed 2 sessions which covered the main principles of correctly identifying a nasogastric (NG) tube position on a chest radiograph. The sessions were authored by Natasha Hayes who is a radiographer at Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

In April 2023, Natasha kindly reviewed and updated the sessions to include recent data and guidelines from a range of organisations including the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) and the NHS Never Events data.

Natasha has also increased the number of chest radiographs in the Self Evaluation section to further test your knowledge on identifying correct placement of NG tubes. A big thank you to everyone involved.

Paediatric Imaging

The paediatric sessions in Clinical Imaging have recently been reviewed and updated. The sessions cover the appendicular and axial skeleton and focus on trauma, however common pathologies and normal variants are also included. The Suspected Physical Abuse (SPA) module has also been updated; it comprises of 12 sessions discussing the appearance of SPA on radiographs. The 1st session covers the knowledge and skills needed to recognise SPA. This is followed by 11 interactive case studies to test your understanding where you will decide whether the case is SPA or not.

New Paediatric Self Evaluation module

 Self evaluation within Clinical Imaging has always been a major component of our programme. I decided to increase the number of sessions linked to paediatrics and to change the format. We now have 6 sessions covering the axial and appendicular skeleton as it appears on conventional radiographs. Each session is a combination of diagrams and images to label, hot spot questions, images to interpret and many other interactive questions covering anatomy, mechanisms of injury, radiographic technique as well as the interpretation of trauma, pathology and normal variants.

I feel that this update will enable you to complete a more thorough assessment of your skills in paediatric image interpretation.

Image Interpretation renamed Clinical Imaging

Posted on: January 29th, 2021 by Alex Drinkall No Comments

Health Education England’s elearning for healthcare programme, Image Interpretation, that is developed in partnership with the College and Society of Radiographers has been renamed Clinical Imaging to reflect the scope and nature of the resource more accurately.

Dorothy Keane, Clinical Lead for Clinical Imaging, said: “When I became clinical lead for the programme we could not have envisaged how successful the programme would be and how demand for sessions would grow exponentially to encompass all modalities and topics such as research in radiography, dementia, dignity, personalising care, orthopaedics and interventional procedures. The programme now has almost 500 sessions covering radiography, ultrasound, CT, MRI, fluoroscopy and nuclear medicine.

“With such growth we have outgrown our original scale and intentions and feel renaming the programme as Clinical Imaging is important to accurately reflect our broader scope and aims.”

Since the launch of the programme there have been almost 218,000 session launches; demonstrating just how much of a well-used resource it is.  The Clinical Imaging team will continue to provide free resources for colleagues working in clinical imaging as well as other healthcare professionals and will develop new elearning sessions to reflect changes in imaging and the wider NHS.

For more information about the Clinical Imaging programme, including details on how to access the sessions please visit the elfh website.

elfh is a NHS England programme in partnership with the NHS and professional bodies