The battle against Covid-19: the experience of an Egyptian radiology department in a university setting

A challenging work environment: The lived experiences of Eswatini diagnostic radiographers in the public health sector

BACKGROUND

Diagnostic radiographers play a vital role in healthcare so it is important for senior management to understand radiographer's duties and work experiences. There has been a number of studies conducted on the experiences of radiographers in other countries like the United Kingdom and South Africa. From these studies a number of work place challenges were identified. In the Eswatini healthcare context, there has been no research conducted on the daily experiences of diagnostic radiographers working in Eswatini. The country's leadership aims to attain its Vision 2022 which focusses on the attainment of the millennium development goals. This vision affects all healthcare professions so for it to be successful, it is imperative to understand what it means to be a diagnostic radiographer working in the country of Eswatini. This paper aims to address this gap in literature.

AIM

The aim of this paper is to explore and describe the lived experiences of Eswatini diagnostic radiographers working in the public health sector.

METHODS

A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and phenomenological design was utilised. Participants were purposively sampled within the public health sector. Diagnostic radiographers participated voluntarily and willingly consented to participate in focus group interviews (n = 18).

RESULTS

A challenging work environment emerged as a principal theme from the participants narratives with 6 sub-themes namely: Lack of resources and consumables, Shortage of radiographers, Absence of radiologists, Lack of proper radiation monitoring and safety, Poor remuneration, Stagnant professional growth.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study provided new insights into what Eswatini radiographers are experiencing in the public health sector. It is evident that there are a number of challenges which need to be addressed by the Eswatini management in order to successfully implement Vision 2022. Based on this study, there is the potential for a future study on the development of a professional identity for radiographers in Eswatini.

Introduction of "Teach and Work from Home" in Radiology during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Current Status: Implementation Research Done at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital

Background

The current COVID-19 pandemic is forcing the world community to change how things should be done to avoid widespread transmission and containment of infection. Some countries are promoting "Work from Home" for disciplines like radiology" to prevent infection dissemination in hospital facilities. So the aim of this study is to introduce 'work & teach and from home' during the pandemic by establishing convenient virtual platforms for faculty members and students.

Methods

This implementation research introduced a model "teach and work from home" during COVID pandemic. It was evaluated using a cross-sectional design to assess the effect of attending each session on the exam score of residents during the 1^st 2 months of the COVID-19 declaration in Ethiopia. Teaching and service activities that didn't require physical presence were identified and replaced with virtual activities. Additional faculty teaching activity was also introduced to compensate for the reduced radiology caseload.

Results

Teach and work from home was introduced, and a total of 196 online teaching activities were conducted during the model's two-month introduction. Online attendance of teaching activities was shown to have a positive relation with exam scores for all levels of trainees.

Conclusion

It was able to introduce teach and work from home model in the department of radiology at Addis Ababa university and it was shown that residents' retention of knowledge with the virtual platform was encouraging. It also brought a new experience in virtual teaching which is still practiced after the pandemic.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on radiology education, training, and practice: A narrative review

Radiology education and training is of paramount clinical importance given the prominence of medical imaging utilization in effective clinical practice. The incorporation of basic radiology in the medical curriculum has continued to evolve, focusing on teaching image interpretation skills, the appropriate ordering of radiological investigations, judicious use of ionizing radiation, and providing exposure to interventional radiology. Advancements in radiology have been driven by the digital revolution, which has, in turn, had a positive impact on radiology education and training. Upon the advent of the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many training institutions and hospitals adhered to directives which advised rescheduling of non-urgent outpatient appointments. This inevitably impacted the workflow of the radiology department, which resulted in the reduction of clinical in-person case reviews and consultations, as well as in-person teaching sessions. Several medical schools and research centers completely suspended face-to-face academic activity. This led to challenges for medical teachers to complete the radiology syllabus while ensuring that teaching activities continued safely and effectively. As a result, online teaching platforms have virtually replaced didactic face-to-face lectures. Radiology educators also sought other strategies to incorporate interactive teaching sessions while adopting the e-learning approach, as they were cognizant of the limitations that this may have on students' clinical expertise. Migration to online methods to review live cases, journal clubs, simulation-based training, clinical interaction, and radiology examination protocolling are a few examples of successfully addressing the limitations in reduced clinical exposure. In this review paper, we discuss (1) The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on radiology education, training, and practice; (2) Challenges and strategies involved in delivering online radiology education for undergraduates and postgraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic; and (3) Difference between the implementation of radiology education during the COVID-19 pandemic and pre-COVID-19 era.

Challenges and optimization strategies in medical imaging service delivery during COVID-19

In coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), medical imaging plays an essential role in the diagnosis, management and disease progression surveillance. Chest radiography and computed tomography are commonly used imaging techniques globally during this pandemic. As the pandemic continues to unfold, many healthcare systems worldwide struggle to balance the heavy strain due to overwhelming demand for healthcare resources. Changes are required across the entire healthcare system and medical imaging departments are no exception. The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on medical imaging practices. It is now time to pay further attention to the profound challenges of COVID-19 on medical imaging services and develop effective strategies to get ahead of the crisis. Additionally, preparation for operations and survival in the post-pandemic future are necessary considerations. This review aims to comprehensively examine the challenges and optimization of delivering medical imaging services in relation to the current COVID-19 global pandemic, including the role of medical imaging during these challenging times and potential future directions post-COVID-19.