If you have ever been admitted to a hospital or a private clinic, you must have performed a medical imaging examination such as: an X-ray, a CT scan an MRI or an Ultrasound examination. Your doctor will have probably asked for a medical imaging examination to make or confirm a diagnosis or to monitor the effect of treatment. You have radiographers to thank for all of this, and much more. Radiographers are health care professionals whose responsibilities are manifold, with the Radiography profession much-needed in today’s healthcare world.
There is, however, a discrepancy in the paths through which students become radiographers across Europe, and one non-profit organisation aims to facilitate the harmonisation of radiography education across Europe. Newspoint spoke to a member of the European Federation of Radiographer Societies (EFRS), Dr Francis Zarb, who is also an academic at the Department of Radiography within the Faculty of Health Sciences.
What is Radiography and what are the requirements of becoming a radiographer?
Radiography has various branches with the two main ones being: medical imaging and radiotherapy. Medical imaging encompasses a wide range of modalities, such as, ultrasound, MRI, CT nuclear medicine and, of course X-rays. Radiotherapy is the controlled use of high energy X-rays to treat many different types of cancer.
Radiography is constantly changing with technological developments taking place both in diagnostic imaging and treatment modes. The radiographer needs to have a high level of theoretical knowledge and clinical ability. Radiographers require an understanding of the science behind the techniques as well as a great deal of anatomy, physiology, diseases processes and patient care.
In Europe there are a range of providers of radiography education, including universities, universities of applied sciences, technical institutes and vocational colleges. The majority of educational institutions deliver radiography education which is compliant with the Bologna process.
However, the need to ensure full alignment across all higher education institutions remains a priority.
The B.Sc. (Hons) Radiography offered by our University is a four-year course, with years one, two and three being mainly academic, whilst the fourth year is solely dedicated to supervised clinical practice in both medical imaging and radiotherapy. During this year students may undertake a period of clinical experience in an approved centre abroad. On completion of the course, the graduate will have the skills necessary to image and treat conditions, allowing the candidate to be eligible for registration with the Council for the Professions Complimentary to Medicine.
What is the EFRS currently focusing on in terms of priorities for the radiography profession?
Since 2008, the year it was set up, the EFRS has aimed to represent radiographers across Europe. It currently represents 100,000 radiographers and 8,000 student radiographers from 25 countries – who are part of 45 National societies and 65 educational institutions. In Malta, it is represented by the Society of Medical Radiographers (SRM) and the University, of course.
Whilst our overarching aim is to represent, promote and develop the profession of radiography, current areas of focus are the harmonisation of radiography education, the development or radiography research, patient safety and public awareness.
How is EFRS reaching out to these radiographers in the current pandemic?
Through a number of online resources. The EFRS general meeting which was supposed to take place in Austria, Vienna in March, was rescheduled and took place as a virtual meeting on 6 May.
A series of webinars are being conducted and serve as continuing professional development for radiographers, such as the 5-episode webinar series on radiation protection in computed tomography (what we know as CT), a webinar series on radiotherapy, and yet another series on radiation protection in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Safe Europe Imaging.
How long have you been a member of EFRS?
Since its inception. I’ve represented UM and EFRS on a number of occasions in the general meeting which is held biannually. As from February 2018, I was nominated and accepted as a member of the EFRS Education Wing (EW) management team. We develop and promote all levels of radiography education and research across Europe. I’ve also been appointed as EFRS representative on the editorial board of the journal Radiography, and in March, 2019 appointed as co-chair for the ECR 2021 radiographers’ subcommittee. I also form part of the EFRS Radiographer Education Research and Practice (RERP) project, looking at the professional education and training requirements of radiographers in the coming future.
So, what is the role of the Educational Wing Management team, and what are you hoping to achieve?
We collaborate on Europe-wide educational-related projects. A case in point would be the Safe Europe Project, led by Ulster University, and to which UM is a partner. The project aims to investigate and identify the gaps between the skills required by radiographers working in radiation therapy to perform their duties in comparison with the educational training provided across Europe.
Then we facilitate collaboration of research projects involving EFRS members, we organise the webinars, we contribute to EFRS guidance documents, and we contribute to the development of European Diplomas in Radiography – among other things.
What is being planned for the near future?
All EFRS initiatives can be grouped under three themes: Organisation, Profession and Patient Care.
There is a working group that is looking at how the profession can prepare itself for the present and future in relation to Artificial Intelligence. EFRS is looking at potential areas for advance practice in radiography in response to clinical needs – this is something I believe should be underpinned to education and training.
EFRS is also committed at increasing the public and patient involvement within educational institutions – so I’d say we want to focus even more on patient-centred care.
The patient is the reason we are all here.
We have provided and continue to provide appropriate recognition of the radiography profession in Europe, providing the first officially recognised definition of a radiographer. In this regard, in May 2018, the EC European Skills/ Competences, Qualifications and Occupations Unit (ESCO) confirmed they have upgraded the Radiographer profession by linking it to Major Group 2 ‘Professionals’ instead of Major Group 3 ‘Technicians & Associate Professionals’.
There is the EFRS RERP project, a small group of acknowledged radiographers who contributed to developing a White Paper on the future of radiography, listing ambitions and expectations related to radiography education.
EFRS has also launched the first Diplomas in Radiography in 2019, and this year, we will be launching the EFRS Diploma in Computed Tomography. These diplomas are not to be deemed equivalent to national qualifications but as a benchmark for facilitating harmonisation of radiography education across Europe.
Finally, on a personal note, how important do you think it is for Maltese radiographers to stay connected with peers from other countries and what pros does this have on their personal development?
Maltese radiographers are limited to working at the only public general acute hospital on the island or at the only oncology centre, with maybe an opportunity to also work in one of the few private hospitals. This limits the exposure of local radiographers to certain imaging and therapy procedures. Yet it is also important to them to keep abreast with developments taking place at a fast pace within the profession.
Networking provides them with insights into trends and insider information on movements across Europe. Our social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter) make it easier than ever to make new contacts and strengthen existing relationships.
All in all, I think it is the continued contribution of radiographers and students across Europe is what makes EFRS possible.