Neil Roberts

Click the video to watch Neill talk about his career.

What is your current role?

I am a Consultant Therapeutic Radiographer working at the Leeds Cancer Centre at St James’s University Hospital and Sheffield Hallam University (SHU).

My specialist area of practice is in breast radiotherapy and oncology. My expert practice domain is radiotherapy pathway-wide with responsibility for a discrete patient caseload from referral through to discharge. Patient management also takes in certain systemic treatments for breast cancer (apart from chemotherapy). In this capacity I work independently alongside clinical and medical oncologists.

I have an academic/education role also, being seconded with SHU, whereI lecture to undergraduate and postgraduate students on breast cancer radiotherapy and advanced practice and career development. Acting as an MSc dissertation supervisor maintains the link from clinical placement to the higher education institute (HEI) for our postgraduate students.

The research element of my role is fulfilled through acting as local principal investigator on breast radiotherapy trials and recruiting or following up patients into practice-changing studies such as PRIMETIME and ATNEC. In addition, my role with SHU has allowed me to collaborate with the team on grant applications for studies looking into the management of breast oedema and access to breast radiotherapy for certain patient groups.

Leadership and management encompasses all of these aspects when I engage and promote my role and passion for allied health profession (AHP) career development and, obviously, the development of breast radiotherapy. My input at a national level has included development of UK breast radiotherapy consensus guidelines, work with national bodies such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), sitting on trial management groups and, most recently, helping to develop a regional framework for non-surgical oncology advanced clinical practice (ACP) training and development with Health Education England (HEE).

I am fortunate to be a sitting member of the Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) Consultant Radiographers Advisory Group (CRAG) and actively participate in the Breast Radiotherapy Interest Group (BRIG). Internationally I have presented on UK career development to the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) group, was invited to speak to the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) conference on developments in breast radiotherapy techniques and joined the European Federation of Radiographer Societies (EFRS) as a member. I also sit on the international advisory board for the Radiography journal.

How did you progress to this role?

My career path and experience has been varied following qualification as a therapeutic radiographer from the University of Leeds in 2001. I have held roles in most areas of radiotherapy practice, from treatment delivery to being a pre-treatment advanced practitioner. I actively pursued opportunities to broaden my skill set in radiotherapy, including a secondment to the Yorkshire Cancer Research network.

I completed an MA in public health at SHU in 2012 to give me a broader understanding of the determinants of health, healthcare policy and qualitative research. This experience allowed me to identify my area of interest within breast cancer and the positive impact that therapeutic radiographers could play on patient outcomes and experiences through their cancer journey.

What support have you had?

I have been fortunate to enjoy an exceptionally supportive and nurturing environment at Leeds as my career has developed, initially from radiotherapy managers and latterly from the wider multidisciplinary team as my level of seniority has increased in the organisation.

In addition, I have engaged with and been supported by our professional body (SCoR) in identifying and accessing opportunities for self-development along the way. This has included engaging with various working parties, being invited to chair sessions at SCoR’s national annual radiotherapy conference (ARC) and more recently the support of CRAG and the College of Radiographers (CoR) consultant practitioner accreditation process.

Opportunities that could help the wider profession have also been identified for me, through which I have hopefully affected practice in a positive way, such as reviewing for Radiography journal and representing SCoR at national clinical directors’ meetings on the future of the oncology workforce. My work helping to develop training frameworks for the next generation of practitioners is a gift that I would have valued when I started, and I hope will help support and grow the next consultant radiographers.

What do you find most rewarding?

I always say how privileged I feel in this role. Not only does it afford me much personal satisfaction in its varied and broad scope, with the opportunity to have a direct impact on so many people (staff, students and colleagues), but I am also routinely able to affect many patients’ outcomes and experiences by my actions at what is often a very low point in their lives. I feel very proud to be able to do this as a therapeutic radiographer, demonstrating what we can achieve with the correct skills, support and motivation.

Any advice for potential consultants?

Don’t rush into it! Make sure you have experienced as much as you can in the fundamental aspects of your chosen discipline (whether this be therapeutic or diagnostic radiography). Seek out and take advantage of any opportunities you feel will help you to grow as a practitioner, even if they might seem a little daunting or ‘left field’ at the time. Take the time to develop or grow your particular interest as not everyone wants to diversify from generalist practice, and these can be equally as rewarding as specialist roles. If you do, then advancing practice involves a significant degree of determination and motivation to optimise your impact, if you are not committed or motivated then it is ultimately the patients who will see through you!