A student webinar to raise the profile of therapeutic radiography was held on World Cancer Day in February, hosted by Jo McNamara, National Therapeutic Radiography Clinical Fellow and senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University.
The aim was to explain the role and help students make informed career choices.
Jo said: ‘They hear the word cancer and think it's going to be a depressing job when it couldn't be further from the truth. It's our aim to dispel lots of those myths and increase people's knowledge of the profession.’
The webinar, called The Role of a Therapeutic Radiographer, ran for one hour and included speakers Hazel Pennington, National Therapeutic Radiography Clinical Fellow, and Michelle Simon, Radiotherapy Practice Educator and RePAIR fellow.
Jo, Michelle and Hazel discussed all aspects of the profession, including its history, career opportunities, the routes and roles available, and ways to become a qualified therapeutic radiographer.
The webinar received 550 registrations and 102 attended the live session. A live poll found 87% of attendees had not previously heard of therapeutic radiography. As one student said: 'The best aspect of the webinar was learning about the role of a therapeutic radiographer, and about all the different types of technology and techniques that can be used in radiotherapy.’