The Society of Radiographers’ presidential inauguration ceremony will take place on Wednesday evening (July 3) at the illustrious Manchester Hall’s Goulborn Lodge.
President-elect Tom Welton will be inducted as the 87th president of the Society during the ceremony in Manchester, ringing in a year of his presidency.
Following a reception in Manchester Hall’s historic Museum Room, attendees will be guided to Goulborn Lodge, which maintains many of Manchester Hall’s association with the Freemason’s.
Excited about the opportunity
Mr Welton said he was excited but apprehensive of the year ahead, and that he was looking forward to the opportunity to explore other sides to the profession.
“I had instant imposter syndrome,” he said. “But it was the obvious next step. I didn’t join UK Council to be the president, I joined for the opportunity to make a change. I very much like to be in a position where I can improve standards.
“I’m really looking forward to the communication and networking. Getting out there and meeting people is the part I really enjoy. I like understanding people’s points of view, and talking things through.”
Priorities for the year ahead
Mr Welton added that he had some important priorities for the year ahead that he intended to focus on for the duration of his tenure.
He said: “I have an objective to improve careers and outreach. Getting an understanding for schools and colleges of what radiographers are and what they do, improving awareness of who we are and hopefully getting more people into the profession.
“Another theme is around our networks and communication structures. Trying to understand how all our amazing volunteers – reps networks, managers networks, regional committees, student groups, advisory groups – how do we structure the governance of communication and discussion around change, to make sure that the bottlenecks are addressed?”
'Be a doer'
Mr Welton concluded with one important message for members.
“Be a doer. If you want to see something change in the Society or in the profession, be the person who makes that change,” he said. “The layers of leadership for the Society are not hard to access – you can speak up and get to someone who can implement your ideas with just a bit of work.”
Mr Welton is the lead practice educator for the diagnostic radiology course at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, which covers Preston and Chorley Way. He works in collaboration with Cumbria University to teach undergraduate students attending the clinical placement site.
(Image: Tom Welton, president-elect of the SoR, by Eva Slusarek)