Tell me about your journey with Alliance – where did it start, where are you now?

I actually started working for Alliance Medical in June 2006 as a Senior Radiographer. I joined to learn MRI as I was aware of their excellent, structured training programme. I had 5 excellent years with AML and left as Head of Mobiles (North). 

In that time, I not only completed all the in-house training, but also enrolled on my MSc in Medical Imaging, which I completed in 2014. 

Now as Associate Professor in Radiography at the University of Plymouth, I wanted my students to experience all areas of medical imaging and where this is delivered.

How do Alliance Medical and Plymouth work together to deliver the best experiences for graduates and support them with their career?

I have worked closely with the team at Alliance Medical to ensure that there is capacity at their sites for our students and that staff are prepared for them and have completed the COR accredited Practice Educator training.

Previously, when working for Alliance, I had graduates in my team and know that a structured training approach is appreciated by the graduates, especially knowing that the stage points for progression were clear.

Do you believe that graduates have the opportunity to move in different directions within Alliance Medical; or gain experience in a range of areas?

Yes, it is up to the individual to develop themselves to a certain extent, but there are opportunities which I took advantage of when I worked for Alliance Medical – for example I am proud of my work developing a computer programme for rostering for all mobile radiographers, which improved site satisfaction, radiographer satisfaction and offered reduced costs.

When you provide services for any provider, you really need to be open and transparent with excellent governance, including audit. This is something that can all be learnt by the graduates when working for Alliance.

How important are graduates to the field of radiography?

Essential, we have a shortfall of over 4000 radiographers, and this will only increase with the aging workforce.

What are Plymouth and Alliance Medical planning to do differently to other universities and partners?

The University of Plymouth diagnostic radiography programme is new and innovative. From the start we teach professionalism, the importance of patient centred care and how imaging interacts with the majority of patient pathways. We have an extensive simulation strategy, ensuing that the student is 80% prepared for any clinical encounter. 

We include the CT and MR physics and applications which is generally taught at a post-grad level. As cross-sectional imaging forms 42% of all imaging, it is essential that undergraduate students are as capable of carrying out a CT or MR scan as a CXR. This means that students spend at least 15 week in CT/MR/PETCT in Years 2 and 3. 

This goes way beyond the HCPC standards, but we feel is necessary for the 21^st century radiographer. This compares to a couple of weeks for traditional programmes in CT and most students do not even see any MRI. We have been able to place students in the Alliance Medical PET/CT centres and standalone MRI centre at Bridgewater, where the feedback has been very positive.