In this section
In This Section
What do you do in your current role/area of expertise?
My current roles are exciting and rewarding. As an Associate Professor in the Radiotherapy and Oncology Section of the Centre for Allied Health I draw on my long clinical career (over 23 years) alongside my educational experience, skills and knowledge to inspire, motivate, inform and support our future workforce of Therapeutic Radiographers.
For me, everything comes back to our patients, this drives my practice as an educator. Although not practicing clinically, I collaborate with patient groups and charities such as the amazing OUTPatients (LGBT cancer charity) and have recently set up an Experts by Experience group, so that our patients can share their experiences and help inform our curriculum. So I still feel my role is person or patient centric. My current research (for which I have received aCoRiPS grant) explores what person-centred care means to patients, students, clinical staff and managers. This is an exciting next phase of the research started for my Educational Doctorate – exploring academic educators experiences and perceptions of caring in therapeutic radiography.
My role as an academic educator, over the last 15 years, has enabled me to have an in-depth and research-informed knowledge of pedagogy – learning, teaching and assessment. No two patients are the same, just as no two students are the same, so an essential aspect of my practice is individualisation – in fact this is student-centred care, mirroring person-centred patient care in the clinical setting. Our students are wonderfully diverse in their backgrounds and learning needs, so as an educator I strive to meet those needs. Being inclusive is caring for and about our students (and patients of course). I am lucky to be able to bring findings from my thesis into our programme – caring about our students means connecting with them as individuals, demonstrating compassion, humanity and developing meaningful reciprocal relationships. Caring for our students means the more practical task-based aspects of learning, teaching and assessment are provided; Things such as assessment briefings and providing feedback in a timely manner.
As Professional Lead and Head of Section for Radiotherapy and Oncology, I lead our team and hopefully inspire educators of the future, from our graduates to early career educators. My leadership style is compassionate and transformative, using principles and attitudes such as collaboration, empathy, respect and dignity to role model professional behaviours to students and staff alike. I absolutely love to see team members grow and achieve, and if I can help that happen it is hugely fulfilling and meaningful to me. I suppose, I now care for and about my students and staff, in similar ways to that of my patients. Now I have my doctoral research to support that ethos too!
I have been fortunate to receive Education Excellence Awards for my programme leadership (during the pandemic) and for my collaborative work leading and designing a new Extenuating Circumstances Process across the whole of the University. This was through my Associate Dean for Student Outcomes role, bringing equity and parity through a central panel, ensuring a student-centred compassionate approach to supporting students and their learning. Working outside the discipline of Radiotherapy is exciting and rewarding, being able to further spread my good practice so all our students may benefit is meaningful to me. Working as a key leader within Inclusive Education, Student Outcomes and as an expert in pedagogy, facilitates interprofessional collaborations with students and staff, bringing benefits to us all.
I feel very much that education is a partnership endeavour. Co-creation with our students is important and insightful. I have been privileged to work on multiple student-staff partnership research initiatives, each receiving a small grant to research, inform and create a legacy output to benefit future students’ learning. A recent topic is ‘what makes an effective, caring lecturer?’, where I am working with two brilliant medical students. Their poster with initial findings, was shared at UKIO 2024! A Toolkit is being developed to further support this work.
I love learning, and fully endorse the lifelong learning all healthcare professionals need, especially in radiotherapy where innovation and changes are a constant. I feel education offers a real opportunity to continuously learn and refine my own professional knowledge, whilst helping to instil the skills and attributes needed for our current and future therapeutic radiographers. Every year Graduation is a mix of happiness and sadness, alongside pride and fulfilment. One thing is for certain, I always cry!
What steps did you take to get to this role?
I have always loved learning, challenging my brain and innovating, keeping up with professional developments, research and service improvements. I knew I wanted to complete further education from the outset, when I received my Diploma of the College of Radiographers, Therapy (DCRT) many years ago! When our professional qualification moved towards a BSc (Hons) I completed an ‘end-on’ BSc (Hons) which I loved, doing research of my own and delving into the critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making transferable skills we all now know so well! Next came a Masters Module in on-treatment review and then a full Masters in Oncology Practice at Kingston University.
At Kingston, the wonderful Geraldine Francis suggested I had a natural skill presenting and I should consider a job in education. She was right, and in 2009 I took up the post of Senior Lecturer in Kingston, with Geraldine as Course Leader and a phenomenal mentor and role model. I owe her so much and I miss her terribly. I knew a Masters was not enough for me and my thirst for knowledge, so my quest for a Doctorate started. I am hugely proud to have successfully completed this, and in a topic so important to me and radiotherapy; caring.
I wanted to positively influence patients, to help and support them in the darkest of times, so I became a therapeutic radiographer. I wanted to support and grow the radiographers of the future, to hone those all-important skills and attributes that a caring, compassionate, competent radiographer needs, so I moved into education. My educator role gives me all this and more, it is hugely rewarding and a privilege to support our students grow. But be warned, the endless summer holidays are a myth!
What support did you have along the way or would have been helpful to have had?
If Geraldine had not suggested I had a natural ability, I doubt I would have felt I had sufficient skills and knowledge to move to education. So having someone who is an experienced educator and believes in you is essential. I am happy to offer taster sessions to clinical staff who might want to test the water before diving fully into education, or a secondment. Education may not be the optimal specialist domain for everyone. Once in post, a mentor, generous with their time to pass on snippets of information is essential too.
Knowing that you don’t have to know everything is important… sometimes we learn from and with our students, so be humble and accepting, do not be afraid to ask or say, ‘I am not sure about that, let’s find out!’. Imposter Syndrome is real, I still feel it, but I know I do some things well when students tell me they will always remember my caring compassionate ethos and it frames their clinical practice. You have to love learning, because it never stops, and never should, so the drive and passion for your own education and knowledge is imperative.
I think a network for educators would be a great idea, specifically in radiotherapy. We may be a small profession, but we can support each other, maybe us older educators mentoring new or aspiring educators? Yes please!
What is the most rewarding thing about your role?
It has to be inspiring and supporting the professionals of the future, especially if they have struggled or had difficulties along their educational journey. Students who absolutely put their heart and soul into being the best therapeutic radiographer they can be, enacting the values of caring and compassion, putting patients and people first – they drive me and make me feel so incredibly proud and privileged. Knowing their journeys, watching professionals grow, achieve and lead our unique specialist domain of radiotherapy is so rewarding. I never ever tire of education, we nurture students who become professionals, our peers and our friends, our radiotherapy community – I love it!!
What advice can you give to others who might want to work towards this role or follow a similar pathway?
Definitely do some sessions at the ‘local’ university, deliver staff training sessions in clinical, think about a practice education role, and organise some clinical based sessions for students in your department to see if you enjoy it…you have to enjoy it! Although I still get nervous and anxious when students sit exams!
Think about what drives you. I love the technical aspects of our role, the physics, the imaging and the innovation, but my real driver is people, the humanity aspects – patients, students, staff, so my ‘area’ just naturally became caring and compassion. It was evident during my Masters; I just didn’t know it at the time!
I am happy to facilitate taster days or weeks for clinical colleagues – do get in touch! Bend the ear of a willing and supportive academic, to deliver some sessions in the university. It really is a magical place where our wonderful professionals are born and grow!