A pioneering postgraduate CPD module is aiming to turn radiographers with minimal knowledge of MRI into valuable members of the team in just 15 weeks.
The University of Liverpool course is a mix of online and face-to-face learning designed to fit around the busy working lives of radiographers. A similar course in CT is planned for 2022.
The first module starts in September, taking participants through MRI safety, physics, scanner technology, anatomy and pathology, commonly encountered clinical techniques, workflow in an MRI department and caring for patients.
Dr Stuart Mackay, the university’s senior lecturer and head of programme (diagnostic radiography), said the course had resulted from a new region-wide approach to the educational needs of the workforce. ‘We realised the workforce of the next five to 10 years will need to be better equipped in CT and MRI due to workforce changes and strategic needs. CT and MRI scanning is going to increase and there will be a massive need for more radiographers with higher-level CT and MRI skills than they currently have,’ he said.
Clinical lead radiographer Helen Anderson was seconded to the team in February to help develop the courses in a way that responded to needs of radiology services.
She said: ‘As CT and MRI are not taught in depth at undergraduate level – and training new staff cross-sectional imaging in the clinical environment from scratch can be very challenging due to clinical pressures – these modules aim to arm radiographers new to cross-sectional imaging with the skills needed for a first post.’
The module is worth 30 CPD credits and participants must be able to spend the equivalent of 10 weeks in a designated MRI department.
The theory is delivered in an initial three-day block at the university, followed by three hours a week of online teaching sessions, both live and recorded.
To find out more about MRI and CT modules, email [email protected] or [email protected]. To apply, email [email protected].