Over the next few weeks, the SoR is publishing information on career pathways highlighted in the Education and Career Framework (ECF). Today, we’re looking at the academic career pathway.
The SoR collected case studies as part of the original ECF, which was published in 2022. Over the past year, the society put out a call for educator case studies as part of the NHS England Professional Body Education Reform Commission. These submissions included roles across academia, practice education and service leads.
In the context of the ECF, academic relates to members of the imaging or radiotherapy workforce who work in professional environments and are tasked with delivering education across the profession. These environments can include higher education institutions.
The case studies were commissioned by the SoR with support from the Workforce, Training and Education Directorate England.
Which case studies fall under this category?
One of the academic case studies in this category focuses onDr Carolyn Costigan. Carolyn is a clinical academic lead for healthcare science and a divisional lead for family health directorate at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. In her role as a clinical academic lead, Carolyn is tasked with developing plans, policies and systems to support research in healthcare science. She also designs and spearheads strategies to encourage patient and public involvement within HSC-led research.
Another case study looks at Rebekah Jones. Rebekah is a Therapeutic Radiography lecturer at Birmingham City University who teaches on both the BSc (Hons) and MSc (pre-registration) programmes. She is also the module lead for a radiotherapy and oncology module at the university and provides pastoral support as a personal tutor to Therapeutic Radiography students.
Kathryn Williamson, professional officer for education and accreditation for the College of Radiographers, led the process of gathering case studies. She praised the focus on academics in the online hub and encouraged members to pursue a role in academia.
“We’re excited to have expanded our educator case studies through funding received from NHSE,” she said.“Academics play a leading role in the development and delivery of innovative and effective radiography education provision across all levels of practice and disciplines, as well as in growing the research evidence base for the profession.
“It is a career pathway that can have a lot to offer in terms of development opportunities and professional growth. We hope the case studies will encourage others to consider a career in academia, and the impact and contributions they could make in such a role.”
To access the ECF online hub, click here.