Continuing professional development: Western Australian radiographers' opinions and attitudes

Abstract

Abstract Purpose : The Australian radiography profession is currently moving towards compulsory continuing professional development (CPD) participation. An understanding of radiographer's attitudes and opinions towards CPD will assist in providing a CPD programme that meets the needs of radiographers. The aim of this study was to determine Western Australian radiographers' attitudes and opinions towards CPD and the programme that is currently being run by the Australian Institute of Radiography. Methods : Two‐hundred and seventy‐seven questionnaires about CPD were distributed to metropolitan clinical centres across Perth and 15 rural centres in Western Australia. Results : A total of 192 questionnaires were returned. A response rate of 64% was achieved for the metropolitan area (178/277). Among all respondents, 88% were currently engaged in CPD and the group of age 50+ had the highest percentage (78.1%) of respondents who believed CPD to be very important. Updating professional knowledge (79%) and maintaining professional competence (75%) were the most popular reasons for participating in CPD. Participants reported that time constraints and workload are barriers to CPD participation. Employer initiated CPD was most favoured; with in‐house education and workplace seminars as suggested methods to increase CPD participation. Conclusion : This study demonstrated that decreased participation rates in CPD were mainly due to time constraints and workloads. Participation in CPD programmes is likely to be increased with more in‐house education and workplace seminars. Changes need to be made to the current CPD programme to improve its accessibility and usability