University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, South Africa.
Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Centre for Health Professions Education, South Africa.
Radiography (Lond). 2022 Aug;28(3):668-673. doi: 10.1016/j.radi.2022.05.003. Epub 2022 May 25.
Caring is embedded in professional guidance documents, however the meaning of caring remains unclear. It is important to clarify the meaning of caring and identify caring behaviours because it is an integral part of radiography practice and radiography education. This article aimed to explore how radiography educators understand caring and how caring is demonstrated practically from their perspective.
A qualitative approach using online semi-structured interviews was used. Radiography educators were purposively selected. This was followed by quota sampling to ensure that participants represented all four disciplines in radiography. Thematic analysis was performed and five themes were identified from the data. Data saturation was achieved when no new themes emerged.
This study revealed that radiography educators valued caring behaviours as part of their profession and reasonably understood what caring entails. The ability to demonstrate caring during patient-practitioner encounters was seen as an essential part of a radiographer's role. An interesting finding was that participants viewed technical competency as how caring can be demonstrated.
There is evidence that points to a shared understanding of the meaning of caring but without clarity of how it looks practically in the radiography profession and by implication the radiography curriculum.
Given the importance of caring, consensus on competence standard requirements for caring is suggested. Radiography educators should emphasis the importance of caring and provide diverse learning opportunities for students to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to caring to develop it as a strong competence.
关爱是专业指导文件中不可或缺的一部分，但关爱的确切含义仍不清楚。明确关爱意义并识别关爱的行为至关重要，因为关爱是放射学实践和教育的重要组成部分。本文旨在探讨放射学教育者如何理解关爱，以及从他们的角度来看，关爱是如何在实践中体现的。
采用在线半结构化访谈的定性方法。有目的地选择放射学教育者。随后进行配额抽样，以确保参与者代表放射学的所有四个学科。对数据进行主题分析，确定了五个主题。当没有新的主题出现时，达到了数据饱和。
本研究表明，放射学教育者重视关爱行为，将其视为职业的一部分，并对关爱的含义有一定的理解。在患者与从业者的互动中表现出关爱的能力被视为放射技师角色的重要组成部分。一个有趣的发现是，参与者认为技术能力是如何体现关爱的一种方式。
有证据表明，人们对关爱的含义有共同的理解，但在放射学专业中，关爱在实践中是如何体现的，以及在放射学课程中是如何体现的，还不够明确。
鉴于关爱至关重要，建议对关爱方面的能力标准要求达成共识。放射学教育者应强调关爱的重要性，并为学生提供多样化的学习机会，使他们发展与关爱相关的知识、技能和态度，将其培养为一项强大的能力。
