TDNet Discover

The purpose of this proposed capstone project is to investigate whether or not carefully-designed radiologic-based simulations, inserted between classroom lectures and clinical experiences, can actively reduce lack of confidence on the part of radiological technologist (RT) students during their clinical experience. For the utility of this study, the central phenomenon will be generally defined as assessing the overall impact of introducing three reality-based RT simulations in a laboratory setting, where the students encounter people posing as patients with health problems most common to the RT setting, but where there are no actual safety issues. The students and faculty involved will be asked to answer ten pre-simulation Likert-scale questions to assess their overall feelings of preparedness. Then, after the simulations’ initial encounters, evaluations, and debriefings have taken place, both stakeholders will be asked to respond to ten survey questions. Finally, open-ended questioning, after the students have finished their clinical experiences, is expected to show improvement in the students’ confidence and engagement. In addition, faculty, clinical preceptors, RT staff at clinical sites, and hiring managers will be interviewed, where they will be asked if they perceive any noticeable improvement in the students’ readiness for RT engagement. The theories guiding this study are Kolb’s (1984), Jeffries’ (2005) and Benner’s (1982) theories on the importance of simulated practice in the formation of healthcare professionals, which include the RT profession as part of overall healthcare practices.