The quality of our performance hinges on what we know, which in turns hinges on the quality of our education. Formal education can take many forms: solitary or shared, passive or active, live or virtual, theoretical or practical, and so on. But one of the most important yet underrated forms of education is the kind that occurs on the job, often at the point of care. We learn not only from books and journals but also from one another, and our teachers include not only physicians but also other health professionals such as radiologic technologists. Likewise, radiologists have an important role to play in educating other health professionals, especially technologists. Only if radiologists and technologists educate one another and put such lessons into daily practice can radiology departments perform at their best.
In days gone by, much of this two-way reciprocal education between radiologists and technologists took place at the point of care, such as when technologists presented images to radiologists for review or when radiologists requested the aid of technologists in obtaining particular radiographic views or performing specific procedures. With the advent of picture archiving and communication system, which has typically introduced wider gaps in location and workflow between the two, such interactions tend to be less frequent. Although such technological changes may enhance efficiency and throughput, they have often undermined the quality of educational interaction. Simply put, people who interact less frequently are less likely to have opportunities to share knowledge with one another.
This widening gap places a premium on recognizing and capitalizing on existing educational opportunities and on creating them where they do not exist. One crucial step in doing so is to ensure that such interactions are not regarded as interruptions, nuisances, or rate-limiting steps in the workflow. Because of the frequent inequality in perceived levels of authority and responsibility between radiologists and technologists, such attitudes are more likely to be exhibited, or at least openly expressed, by radiologists. On both sides, however, pressures to work faster and with fewer delays are mounting, and this increases the probability that both radiologists and technologists feel “under the gun” to keep such contacts to a minimum to avoid compromising productivity.
Such attitudes can powerfully undermine the learning culture that every radiology department should strive to embrace. Both sides have something to offer. The radiologist often knows more about specific imaging findings, differential diagnoses, pathophysiology, and the clinical implications of various imaging diagnoses. Moreover, the radiologist is usually responsible for formulating diagnostic impressions and making clinical recommendations for further evaluation and management. By contrast, the technologist is usually the one who interacts directly with the patient, knows the imaging equipment and workflow best, and does the most to influence the patient’s perception of the radiology department. When they work collaboratively, outcomes exceed the sum of their independent products.
Seizing such opportunities is important for a number of reasons. First and most importantly, it can enhance patient care. But no less important is the effect that doing good work has on both radiologists and technologists. It is discouraging to do work you are not proud of or even feel ashamed of. By contrast, when radiologists and technologists know they are doing their best for patients, their levels of satisfaction and fulfillment are likely to be higher, and this can have important benefits for morale throughout a department. When such improvements are the result of collaboration, they also tend to build a sense of team spirit or esprit de corps, which in turn opens to the door to further collaborative enhancements. In the best of all worlds, this can result in a virtuous cycle of improvement.
In an effort to show how this can happen, we share a series of five vignettes outlining real-world educational interactions between radiologists and technologists. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list but to serve as fuel for the imaginations of both, who can be on the lookout for similar opportunities as they arise in their own work environment. One of the beauties of such educational experiences is that they are both enduring and contagious. That is, as one person gains a new insight, he or she often retains it for a very long time. And they can cease being learners and become educators in their own right, sharing it with colleagues. Better ways of working can go viral and sweep through an organization completely independent of more formal channels such as grand rounds or in-services.
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