Mark Beattie

What is your current role?

My main role is that of Radiography Practice Educator and Sonographer at the Ulster Hospital in Belfast. In my practice educator role I facilitate the academic placements of students from Ulster University’s diagnostic radiography BSc (Hons) undergraduate degree programme to our department.

This involves day-to-day management of each student’s placement, including creating a rota to allow them sufficient experience in relevant areas to meet the specific learning outcomes for their placement. As part of my direct supervision of the students I try to work with each one as much as possible in the clinical environment to encourage development of their clinical practice skills and give them relevant and accurate feedback when required. I aim to lead by example and ensure that all my clinical work is to the highest possible standard so that students are aware of the standard that they should eventually be able to demonstrate.

I either carry out professional practice assessments myself or train senior staff members to perform them to a suitable standard, as required by the university and to ensure parity across all students. I aim to conduct two or three tutorial sessions per week to consolidate the theoretical knowledge that students have already gained from their university modules. These tutorials will vary in style, from filmviewing sessions and PowerPoint presentations to practical positioning sessions, depending on the learning needs of each placement group and the learning outcomes for each placement module. While on placement each student has a number of written tasks to complete that are in keeping with the learning outcomes for their placement. Part of my role is to review these tasks. I ensure that students have access to the relevant information they need to complete them. I then review their tasks and give advice on improvements that could be made.

At the end of every placement, I give each student feedback on the progress they have made and if they have achieved their aims. I collate all relevant documentation and send written feedback back to the university. I also aim to provide pastoral care to all students during each placement. Ensuring that they feel supported and valued helps them to develop. My role includes working closely with the university to support students who may be struggling to meet the demands of their placement. Together we devise an action plan to help overcome any issues that a student may be having. I then monitor their progress and give feedback to the university.

A wider aspect of my role is to promote the radiography profession. Prior to the pandemic restrictions I would have attended careers days in schools to try to promote radiography as a potential career opportunity, and would also coordinate work experience opportunities by facilitating school pupils to visit the imaging department, giving them further insight into the role of the profession.

I attend practice educator meetings that allow me (and others) to be kept up to date with changes to the course and to feed information back to the university.

I am to maintain up-to-date clinical knowledge to ensure that what I am teaching is accurate and relevant to current practice. I also keep up my ultrasound skills. I was a sonographer for a number of years before becoming a practice educator; this is a very valuable skill for me, and I aim to scan at least two sessions per week to maintain it.

How did you reach this point in your career?

I completed my BSc (Hons) radiography degree at Ulster University in 2006. When I had been qualified as a radiographer for two years, I got the opportunity to train to become a sonographer by completing a postgraduate diploma in medical ultrasound at Ulster University.

I had always taken a keen interest in working with newly qualified members of staff and student radiographers in the department. When the previous practice educator retired, I saw it as a great opportunity to further develop my role in an area that I greatly enjoyed and was passionate about. Once successful at interview, I soon completed a postgraduate module titled ‘Enhancing teaching and learning in the practice setting’. This gave me valuable knowledge about learning theories and how to apply these in the clinical setting.

As it was an approved programme, this module gave me sufficient evidence to fulfil the College of Radiographers (CoR) criteria to be recognised as an accredited practice educator. In 2021 I renewed my accreditation with the CoR via the experiential route.

What support has been helpful to you?

When I took on the practice educator role, I was very fortunate to shadow my predecessor for a full placement and then to have her support me as I supervised my first full placement. This gave me a great insight into all aspects and intricacies of the role. Her knowledge and experience were invaluable to me at that time. The role has changed significantly since then, which has required me to continuously adapt my approach to each placement.

The support of management in the department is essential to the success of a placement centre. I am very fortunate that the management team recognise the importance of the practice educator role and allow me sufficient non-clinical time to complete all the administrative tasks and teaching required during each placement.

I am lucky to be working in a department where the staff are extremely keen to support students. This means that I know that they will feed back any issues to me, ensuring that I am well informed at all times.

I am also very fortunate that there are now two other radiography practice educators working at other hospitals in the trust. Our close relationship allows us to take a trust-wide approach to how we run our placements and to share ideas and knowledge.

What do you find most rewarding?

For me, the most rewarding part of my role is seeing the development of students during a placement, especially those that have been struggling with particular aspects of their practice. It is great being able to support students during their journey and ultimately seeing them achieve their goals.

Do you have any advice for people considering becoming a practice educator?

I would say that the practice educator role is best taken on by someone who has a genuine interest in teaching and supporting students. It is a role that comes with more challenges than I had expected. In particular, I don’t think that I fully appreciated the amount of pastoral care that some students require. I have had to support students with a very varied range of abilities, needs and issues.

One thing that I find essential is having the support of an assistant practice educator. In my case, as a male practice educator, it is great having a female assistant practice educator. She can act as a second point of contact in the department for the students in my absence. I always make students aware that I will keep her informed of everyone’s progress during the placement or any issues that anybody may be having. I highlight to students that my door is always open to help them out in any way that I can, but also point out that if they would rather speak to a female then I am perfectly happy for them to go directly to my assistant as an alternative if they would prefer.