A university academic is set to tackle the national shortage of therapeutic radiographers.
Joanna McNamara, a senior lecturer in Sheffield Hallam's radiotherapy team, will visit higher education institutes and clinical radiotherapy departments in Canada after receiving a four-figure travelling fellowship from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.
Joanna will share expertise and best practice before returning to embark on a research project investigating the recruitment and retention of student therapeutic radiographers in the UK.
"The NHS has called for the provision of further radiotherapy satellite centres by 2016 and this will mean a further shortage in trained therapy radiographers, impacting on the waiting times for cancer patients,” explained Joanna.
"In Canada, there is a very high academic standard and students rarely drop out, whereas in the UK many fail to complete due to the demanding nature of the course and its combination of clinical and technical training.
"Nearly 50% of cancer patients need radiotherapy care and there has never been a more challenging time for the profession. My visit and subsequent research should shed valuable light on how to overcome some of the immediate hurdles in retaining and recruiting therapeutic radiographers of the highest calibre."
