Dr Lynne Gordon

What do you do in your current role/area of expertise?

I currently hold several roles, both within the radiotherapy academic team and across the School of Health and Social work.

From a teaching and learning perspective I lead the oncology and research modules at pre-registration levels 5 and 6 and contribute to several others across the undergraduate programme and supervise postgraduate students undertaking Master’s research project modules. In the oncology modules my passion is to ensure that our students consider the whole patient journey as well as the radiotherapy perspective, and so the content of my modules always reflects the patient experience and their overall management, and how that relates to radiotherapy practice.

In the research module it's important for me to facilitate students’ understanding of research processes and enable them to see how it applies to their own clinical practice. It also develops their understanding of how our profession has developed based on and informed by research evidence.

Supervision of master’s students enables me to use my own research knowledge and experience to facilitate the students in designing and carrying out a small study. This is across a range of health care professions, not only radiotherapy, so this has really contributed to my knowledge and understanding of a range of allied health professions and how practice is advancing in those areas alongside therapeutic radiography.

I'm the admissions lead for our programme, and I work closely with my colleagues and our student ambassadors in recruiting new students. The admissions role is one that I really love because it is fundamental in helping shape the workforce of the future. As part of my admissions role, I particularly enjoy outreach activities to local schools and colleges, raising awareness of therapeutic radiography.

I hold a school-wide role in the fitness to practise officer team in which I manage cases brought to our attention where a student's fitness to practise might have been called into question - either by academic staff or by clinical practise partners. My role ensures that staff concerns and expectations are managed fairly, and that students are fully supported during any investigation.  The role involves having a detailed knowledge and understanding of university policies and procedures, understanding of the expectations of student healthcare practitioners at different stages in their courses, and helping all parties understand whether an issue relates to a student’s programme of study, or falls outside of that to constitute potential unsafe practice. 

As a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, I regularly review new academic staff, giving advice and support for their teaching practice. This is across the university, not just in health programmes and this peer review has enabled me to learn different ways of approaching education from a range of lecturers in fields as diverse as fashion, film and media, and automotive engineering as well as giving constructive advice and support based on my education experience. Some of the ideas this has generated have been incorporated into my own teaching and learning practice.

I am an ethics reviewer for the School, utilising my knowledge and understanding of research methodologies to ensure that the proposals I review meet the minimum standards of ethical research design.

What steps did you take to get to this role?

I started my radiotherapy career as a student studying the Diploma of the College of Radiographers, qualifying with DCR(T) in 1988.  I worked at Addenbrooke’s NHS trust for several years, and during that time undertook the ‘end on’ degree in order to convert the DCR(T) into a BSc.  This learning gave me the confidence to apply for my first academic role and in 1996 I secured a post with the University of Hertfordshire as a clinical lecturer. Initially this meant being based four days a week in clinical practice, working alongside the practice staff and students to support students’ clinical learning. As a new member of the university’s staff, I needed to undertake a teaching qualification, so alongside the clinical work I studied a postgraduate certificate in education, which I gained in 1997.

Over the years the clinical education role evolved into my current full-time academic role at the university. In 1999 after three years of part-time study alongside my full-time job I gained my master’s degree which comprised a combination of education, research, oncology and radiotherapy modules.

Throughout my academic career I have undertaken many different forms of continued professional development to support my teaching and professional practice. This includes short courses, self-managed scholarly activity, clinical practice updates and small education and research projects.

In 2012 I commenced my biggest academic challenge to date when I enrolled on a doctoral programme, again studying part time alongside my full-time job as a senior lecturer. I'm really proud to have graduated with a Doctorate in Health Research (DHRes) in 2022. It might seem as if 10 years is a long time to gain a doctorate, however this was achieved in the context of several family issues, some major health issues, temporary short staffing within our radiotherapy team, and the pressures of full-time employment. I think this demonstrates that with the appropriate support and time, having a resilient and ambitious approach to studying, that anything is possible.  Studying the doctorate fundamentally enhanced my approach to teaching and learning practice and has enabled me to be a better lecturer.

What support did you have along the way or would have been helpful to have had?

I'm lucky that I had lots of support from my university in gaining the qualifications that I now have and was given time and resources to ensure that those were realised. The Society of Radiographers has always been supportive, and I've been very proud to be a member since I originally qualified in 1988.

My involvement in the SCoR working party for the annual radiotherapy conference, presenting at conferences, being involved in stakeholder meetings etc over the years has been really valuable in helping me understand the wider context for our profession.  Whilst I am not currently clinically based as a practitioner, this wider involvement has always helped inform my academic and educational work, consequently ensuring our graduates become highly skilled practitioners in the radiotherapy workforce.

What is the most rewarding thing about your role?

The most rewarding part of my role is seeing nervous, underconfident applicants join the undergraduate programme and then seeing them develop and mature over the course of three years into confident, fully autonomous and highly skilled independent practitioners.

I always like to consider what I call the ‘granny test’; If I admit somebody to the programme and watch them develop and qualify, would I be happy for them to be treating my granny? And I'm proud to say that over my 28 years as an educator every one of our graduates has met my granny test!

However, we cannot educate our practitioners alone. Teamwork is inherent in the therapeutic radiographer’s role, and no academic or clinical radiographer would be able to work without their team of academic colleagues, practice partners and students.  It is this teamwork aspect that is equally rewarding – we share the highs and lows and support each other (and this team includes our students) to become the best educators and practitioners.

What advice can you give to others who might want to work towards this role or follow a similar pathway?

You have to love learning, and you have to love communicating.  Being a lecturer is not about being cleverer than your students.  It is about realising you have a few more years of experience and knowledge than they have and being willing to pass on what you know to the next generation of practitioners.

This involves being a perpetual student yourself as when you have education as your career, you can never stop studying and learning. My graduates this year described me as a ‘walking encyclopaedia’ – a title I am very proud to have received from them.  But there is no point having all that knowledge if you are not willing to pass it on.  I do miss the daily interactions with patients as for me, therapeutic radiography always was, and always will be about people.  But my daily interactions with students have replaced that.

My immense job satisfaction comes from seeing students graduate and knowing how many therapeutic radiography careers I have influenced.  I hope always that my graduates surpass my knowledge and achievements.