SoR Preceptorship in Radiography

Following input into the HCPC and NHSE national preceptorship work, the College of Radiographers, through funding received as part of the NHSE Professional Body Education Reform Commission, initiated further work on preceptorship.   

This included the commissioning of the Preceptorship in Radiography: Cross-Sectional Scoping of Profession Specific Needs project, led by Helen White, Therapeutic Radiographer and Associate Professor and the project team at Birmingham City University, supported by Kathryn Williamson, CoR Professional Officer Education and Accreditation, and the wider project steering group.

The project specifically included a requirement for:

Profession-specific recommendations which complement the HCPC AHP Preceptorship Principles and the NHSE Preceptorship Standards and Implementation framework and also to include;

1. A report on early career period/preceptee availability and structure of preceptorships and possible impact of preceptorship on retention.
2. Identification of preceptor needs, requirement, and capacity
3. A report on findings relating to profession specific service needs and requirements in relation to preceptorship.

The project involved three phases:

1. Initial desktop literature review of preceptorship, radiography preceptorship, AHP preceptorship;
2. Three online surveys covering practitioners, preceptors, and service managers across both diagnostic and therapeutic radiography;
3. A series of focussed discussion groups from across survey participants 

The full report and recommendations are available here.

Scoping Study Summary Recommendations:

The following themes were identified from the Preceptorship in Radiography: Cross-Sectional Scoping of Profession Specific Needs project.  These have been categorised against the HCPC’s 5 Core Principles for Preceptorship:

1.Organisational Culture and Preceptorship- Conceptualisation, signposting and awareness, Professional body role

As a result of the scoping[KW1] project, this web resource has been developed to support the key themes and recommendations of conceptualisation of preceptorship, signposting and promotion of national preceptorship guidance across the four countries for diagnostic and therapeutic radiography.

The CoR continues to advocate for radiography preceptorship through its ongoing work and engagement with the National Multiprofessional Preceptorship Quality Mark, NHSE, and collaborative working with other professional bodies. As the professional body we seek to promote and recognise examples of good practice in preceptorship.

2.Quality & Oversight of Preceptorship-Monitoring and Evaluation of Quality in Preceptorship

• PB recommendations
• Who is involved.
• NHSE framework.
• NPQM
• Departmental level
• Retention and recruitment
• P’ship feedback
• Partnership working in the design and implementation of p’ships.

Impact-Measurement-Assessment-Preceptorship-March-2026-Final.pdf

3.Preceptee Empowerment[KW2] - Career Progression

The outcomes of the Scoping study recognised that for maximum benefit to all involved, preceptorship must not be implemented in isolation.Instead, preceptorship should be a recurring part of a practitioner’s ongoing career development with clear links to the College of Radiographers Education and Career Framework (ECF).

4.Supporting Education and Career Development

The College of Radiographers Education and Career Framework for the Radiography Workforce provides guidance for employers/service leads and individual practitioners on career development pathways, education and training expectations and practice level competencies through the inclusion of knowledge, skills and attributes, from support worker through to the consultant level of practice and wider practice domains.

The ECF hub on the CoR website provides access to the ECF and a series of career pathway case studies. [KW3] 

The CoR have developed a set of career development mapping tools for individual practitioners to undertake a learning needs analysis against the expectations detailed within the ECF.  This can help support continuing professional development towards and through the enhanced, advanced, and consultant levels of practice.  The mapping tools are available here

Formal Education & Training

Appropriate education and training forms part of good clinical governance, whereby employers must ensure their staff are appropriately educated and trained for the roles and responsibilities expected of them.

To support this, the ECF details the expected level of formal education and training associated with each level of practice.

Through the CoR programme approval process the College oversees the quality of education provision at both the pre and post-registration level in radiography.  Education providers who can demonstrate alignment with the CoR ECF and meet the other CoR quality indicators expected as part of the approval process will be awarded with the CoR approved quality mark.

Practitioners progressing through the foundation support phase of preceptorship, or employers seeking an approved programme of study for their employees, should look for the ‘CoR Approved’ logo on available provision.  Further details of CoR Approval and the CoR approved pre-registration and post-registration programme directories can be found on the CoR website.

For sonography educational programmes, the Consortium for the Accreditation of Sonographic Education (CASE) oversee the accreditation of sonographic courses the UK.  Employers/prospective learners are encouraged to look for the ‘CASE Accredited’ logo.   Further details about CASE Accreditation and a full list of CASE Accredited programmes can be found on the CASE website.

Non-formal learning and development

This may include professional development through in-house learning opportunities, attendance at study days, conferences, face-to-face or online events.   The College of Radiographers offers CPD Now Endorsement as a mark of quality where an event has been deemed to have met the professional body’s required standards for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and a number of the  College’s core CPD Now outcomes. CPD Now endorsement is applicable to study days, conferences, events etc. that are not credit bearing (for example, not carrying an associated formal qualification/ academic credits) and which do not confer competence. Attendees at ‘CPD Now Endorsed’ events can be assured the professional body has reviewed the programme content, learning outcomes and delivery against its required standards for CPD and verified the associated CPD Now outcomes. 

5.Preceptor role

Please refer to the section The Role of the Preceptor for further details and expectations.

The preceptor role is of upmost importance when seeking to deliver a preceptorship programme.

Preceptors must have sufficient expertise of clinical practice and the wider organisation to be able to support preceptees’ clinical knowledge and skills development as well as their onboarding and wider pastoral needs. 

Care must be taken by employers when defining criteria for such roles to consider the required and expected knowledge, skills and attributes of a preceptor. These may vary depending on the nature of the preceptorship and the preceptees to be under their guidance.  Employers may wish to use the CoR ECF to guide on specific levels of KSAs.

Examples of descriptors have been previously created by the SW DRAD P’ship Support group? NHSE JD role descriptors?

Preceptors must be committed to engage in ongoing development around their knowledge and skills in clinical education, coaching, feedback, 

Guidance on training needs, both initially and ongoing, and specifically in relation to coaching, mental health, health and well being support oProvision of linking to the Education and Career Framework, plus the four pillars of practice, • Advocate for the importance of protected time, and job planning for the role of preceptor. • Review possibilities in creation of accessible resources to support preceptors. • Set up a UK National Preceptor Community of Practice. • Explore how to celebrate the value of preceptors, and the value they bring to the professions,[KW4] to the workforce and to individuals • Consider establishing for diagnostic radiographers a Preceptorship Preceptor Champion programme similar to that for therapeutic radiographers.

6i) Delivering Preceptorship Programmes- Programme offer- structure and content

Preceptorship :: Northern Care Alliance

Four pillars of practice

6. Self-confidence and self-efficacy have been reported as vital psychological constructs that can affect a student’s performance (Craven et al., 1991; Hay et al., 1997; Kukulu et al., 2013).
7. The self-efficacy theory of Bandura (1986) suggests that confidence is enhanced by four main factors: successful performances (competence), vicarious experience, verbal persuasion (including praise and encouragement), and physiological feedback. Furthermore, Bandura and Locke (2003) have found that one’s own belief in self-efficacy can significantly impact on confidence in motivation and performance. In terms of developing confidence, Bandura’s theory proposes that ‘mastery experiences’ are crucial for the development of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977). Perry (2011) states that self-confidence is ‘a self-perceived measure of one's belief in one's own abilities, dependent upon contextual background and setting’ (Perry, 2011: 219).k, Bandura (2005) states that self-efficacy scales should be tailored to the ‘object of interest’ and modified according to the context within which it is being used. It is important then to identify the object of interest when developing self-efficacy scales. In the case of nursing it has been widely reported that nurses have to contend with challenging situations (Huston, 2013; Wangensteen et al., 2008), and that student nurses in particular face a range of particular circumstances that they may find challenging (Cooke, 1996).  Confidence in nursing is not a new phenomenon (Farrand et al., 2006). It has often been acknowledged as a crucial component of effective nursing practice. This suggests that developing confidence is vital in the education and training of nursing students to prepare them better for the clinical setting in the ‘real world’.
8. Part of the skill set that is thought to be required by nursing students is having the confidence to transition learning from theoretical teachings to clinical practice in the ‘real world.’ Lundberg (2008) reported that student nurses who lack confidence are less able to deal with situations that they find difficult in a clinical setting. 
9.  
10. he author further asserted that it is crucial that nurse educators work to instil confidence in nursing students through a ‘confidence rich learning environment’ to help better prepare them for work in a clinical setting (Lundberg, 2008). Teaching strategies have been found to help shape the development of student confidence in healthcare professions (Blum and Gordon, 2009; Jordan and Farley, 2008). Stump and colleagues (2012) state that self-efficacy has a great impact on a nurse’s performance and, consequently, the wellbeing of the patient. In a study which investigated transition of newly qualified nurses in a UK hospital, confidence and resilience were identified by participants as being major factors in the preparation of newly qualified nurses as they joined the workforce (Whitehead et al., 2016). Therefore, it is important for nurse educators to assess students’ ability in terms of confidence and self-efficacy.

In radiography, preceptorship should support the development of a wider skillset that spans the four pillars of practice, to enable the preceptee to feel empowered and confident in their new role.  

The CoR Education and Career Framework highlights the importance of this, sharing practice level-specific examples of how members of the workforce can engage with the four pillars of practice.  Through collective engagement this will not only support the development of the individual practitioner, but the development and growth of teams, leading ultimately to improved service delivery and outcomes for patients, service users and their families.

Preceptorship has the potential to support learning and development across disciplines and professional groups, particularly for those transitioning into or across advancing practice in radiography. For this reason, employers may choose to develop multi-professional preceptorship programmes.  This may include opportunities for shared multiprofessional learning on specific topics such as organisational values, face to face cross-profession mentorship or peer-support opportunities, or shared practical training sessions on relevant procedures.  Through such activities multiprofessional preceptorships may provide opportunity to build greater knowledge and understanding between professions, stronger awareness of multidisciplinary patient pathways and improved teamworking across the organisation. 

Whilst these are appropriate and beneficial for the reasons given, they should still take into account the individual needs of the practitioner and be tailored accordingly.

Examples for me to consider:Create a checklist of what should be within a radiography preceptorship offer, to complement that which might be offered within organisations • Provide guidance on what preceptorship offers should include within differing career transition periods. •Explore the possibilities in creation of online, accessible resources to support preceptorship offers, accessible to all radiographers

Link to mapping doc

P’ship should include peer to peer learning, virtual remote mentoring and or coaching, flexible digitally enabled delivery. Cross organisational partnerships, simulation based learning, Use of AI??

Include blurb on sonography education and career framework

6ii)Delivering Preceptorship Programmes- Preceptorship leadership

P’ship should be viewed as part of the wider infrastructure of organisations and systems.  It should be a recognised workforce development priority, one that can assist organisations to maximise employee retention whilst developing the individual and collective capabilities of the workforce.  It can provide the cultural foundations of lifelong learning and development when implemented early in practitioner careers. 

Further Radiography specific preceptorship recommendations:

Summary recommendations for radiography preceptorships

Pre-preceptoship…….

Preceptees should have a named preceptor for the duration of their preceptorship award (e.g. HCPC, 2022; NMC 2022; Health Education England, 2017). Current guidance indicates that, while a preceptor should be a registered clinician, they do not have to come from the same profession as the preceptee.

Multi-professional preceptorships can help to promote better understanding of multiprofessional and cross organisation working at an early stage, with benefits for both preceptees and the organisation itself. Peer learning and sharing of …..

Learning from other health care professionals is encouraged from an early stage introduce and strengthen integrated working at an early stage, highlight shared experiences, standards and learning and development opportunities across professional groups and support wider learning experiences.[KW5] 

Employers are encouraged to consider the environment in which the preceptee will be working when determining the professional background of preceptors.  It is important that adequate profession- specific support is available to ensure radiography preceptees are able to fully develop within their professional scope of practice.  This may require preceptors with a non-radiography background having close links with radiography leads or heads of departments.

Adequate planning and allocation of supporting roles such as mentors

Regardless of the professional background of the preceptor, support roles should be clarified with managers and other clinical supervisors who may also be supporting preceptees. For speech and language therapists, this is particularly relevant in situations where ongoing post-registration training is delivered (for example, for eating, drinking and swallowing).

understanding of the preceptor role, protected time, skills needed including coaching, peer support, preceptor wellbeing, a blended approach to development and learning opportunities, the value of networking and a community of practice and the recognition of the preceptor role.

Guidance specific to speech and language therapists.

In order to ensure that the profession-specific needs of speech and language therapists are accommodated within preceptorship programmes, the following is recommended:

• There should be a nominated speech and language therapist within organisations or wider networks to represent the profession on the development and delivery of preceptorships.
• Speech and language therapists undertaking a preceptorship should have access to mentoring support from a qualified speech and language therapist. This may be within the preceptor role or complimentary to (but linked with) the preceptorship programme. Where there are no speech and language therapists available within an organisation, a suitable external mentor should be sought.
• There should be good communication links between providers of preceptorship programmes and speech and language therapy leads within an organisation or wider network. A process for feedback or escalation should be agreed to support preceptees concerning matters specific to their profession.
• The specific clinical and professional developmental needs of any speech and language therapist roles should be incorporated into any preceptorship programme. Preceptors should be made aware of these and enabled to support preceptees’ access to learning and development opportunities, including clinical supervision, where needed to support autonomous practice within a given role.
• Speech and language therapists should be encouraged to link with professional and clinical networks in their area of practice to support their confidence as autonomous practitioners. Examples of these networks include the clinical excellence networks hosted by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
• Preceptors and employers should refer to the RCSLT’s resources available to support practitioners new to roles, including the guidance for Newly Qualified Speech and Language Therapists. In addition guidance is being developed for International Recruitment as well as guidance on new roles through the Workforce reform programme.
• Speech and language therapy preceptees should be encouraged to give feedback on multi-professional programmes to support their voice in future development.

Preceptees should be encouraged to work in partnership with employers/preceptors on the ongoing development of preceptorship offerings, with the opportunity for giving feedback on their preceptorship experiences as a minimum being provided.

Service managers and preceptors should refer to the SoR guidance relating to international recruitment of imaging and radiotherapy professionals from overseas: International recruitment: Guidance for managers recruiting imaging and radiotherapy professionals f | SoR

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