Educational priorities for radiography: Towards a globally unified curriculum

The focus of the PhD project is to determine the clinical expectations of radiography in the future and, through consensus modelling, determine the essential and desirable components of a potentially unified radiography graduate curriculum. The scope of the project may be limited to Europe or include additional global regions where a reasoned argument can be presented.

We invite PhD proposals that consider the focus above, challenge existing ideas on radiography education and expand current thinking on healthcare workforce internationalisation through unification of education, offering original insights and potential solutions to current issues by undertaking significant and rigorous research.

Radiography is a healthcare profession in transition. Over the last 20 years, advances in digital technology and computer power have revolutionised image acquisition processes and expanded the range and breadth of examinations and modalities available in clinical practice to diagnose, stage and monitor disease. While projectional radiography (X-ray) remains a common examination, computed tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Ultrasound and nuclear medicine studies such as Positron Emission Tomography and hybrid imaging are also increasing in popularity and global availability. Alongside this, the mass of data created in through the image acquisition process has meant the Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being increasingly explored and adopted to augment image acquisition practices. However, despite the growth in complexity and volume of available technology, the centre of all imaging examinations is a patient concerned about their health and wellbeing.

Radiography across Europe and much of the world is a graduate profession. However, technology expansion and increasing automation has meant that the radiographer curriculum has an increasing number of facets. As a result, curricula have expanded to include new technologies without any critical review of the skills, competencies and clinical expectations of radiographers of the future. Further, despite many countries, including the UK, relying on international healthcare workers to supplement a home educated workforce, there has been meaningful international discussion with regard to developing a unified threshold curriculum or exploring the priorities for the future radiography workforce and supporting threshold education within different countries and regions of the world.