Diagnostic Radiology Physics —
Training activity: 11

Details

Contribute to the optimisation of an imaging procedure, and reflect on the organisation’s optimisation framework.

Type

Developmental training activity (DTA)

Evidence requirements

Evidence the activity has been undertaken by the trainee​.

Reflection on the activity at one or more time points after the event including learning from the activity and/or areas of the trainees practice for development.

An action plan to implement learning and/or to address skills or knowledge gaps identified.

Reflective practice guidance

The guidance below is provided to support reflection at different time points, providing you with questions to aid you to reflect for this training activity. They are provided for guidance and should not be considered as a mandatory checklist. Trainees should not be expected to provide answers to each of the guidance questions listed.

Before action

What are the intended outcomes of the training activity?

• How will reviewing the relevant learning outcome help you focus on the technical requirements for assessing and improving an imaging procedure?
• What do you need to know about the scientific principles of optimisation—including the relationships between spatial resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and radiation dose—before you begin?
• How will this activity develop your understanding of the legislative and organisational frameworks that govern radiation protection within a healthcare setting?
• In what ways will this training prepare you to analyse patient dose parameters and assess uncertainties in dosimetry?
• How will you ensure you are prepared to contribute to an optimisation process that complements local policies and frameworks?

What do you anticipate you will learn from the experience?

• What specific insights do you hope to gain regarding how a healthcare organisation identifies and implements areas for improvement within its optimisation framework?
• What do you already know about the factors that influence patient dose and image quality (e.g., spatial resolution, contrast, noise) for the specific imaging task being reviewed?
• How do you anticipate this experience will improve your understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders—such as medical physics colleagues and clinical users—in the optimisation process?
• How do you expect this activity to deepen your knowledge of typical doses and risks in diagnostic radiology for different imaging modalities?
• How will this experience contribute to the high-level analytical and interpretive responsibilities required for your future role as a Clinical Scientist?

What actions will you take in preparation for the experience?

• How will you discuss the specific imaging procedure and the scope of your contribution with your Training Officer to ensure you understand the laboratory or department’s expectations?
• Which national guidelines, local protocols, and diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) will you review to support your optimisation recommendations?
• What potential challenges have you identified—such as balancing the competing demands of low radiation dose and high diagnostic image quality—and how do you plan to handle them?
• What resources on the principles of patient dosimetry and risk assessment will you consult beforehand?
• How do you honestly feel about contributing to organisational policies and processes that directly impact patient safety and the clinical management of patients?

In action

What are you doing?

• What specific components of the healthcare organisation’s optimisation framework—such as policies, procedures, or local protocols—are you currently reviewing to understand the local approach to radiation protection?
• How are you approaching the patient dose audit, and what specific dose parameters or image quality markers are you focusing on during data collection?
• What decisions are you making regarding the balance between spatial resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and radiation dose as the optimisation process progresses?
• Which parts of the optimisation review feel intuitive based on your scientific knowledge, and which require more conscious effort to align with the organisation’s specific legislative and governance framework?
• How are you documenting your initial observations regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the existing local framework in relation to national best practice?

How are you progressing with the activity?

• How effective are your actions in identifying specific areas for improvement within the imaging procedure you are currently investigating?
• What challenges are you facing in interpreting the results of the dose audit, particularly regarding assessment of uncertainties in dosimetry or risk calculation for individual patients?
• What are you learning about the practical complexities of implementing and maintaining an effective optimisation framework within a live clinical environment?
• How does the data you are currently gathering—such as typical doses and risks—connect to your existing knowledge of diagnostic radiology physics?
• Are your emerging recommendations for optimisation strategies clearly supported by the audit data and the clinical requirements of the imaging task?

How are you adapting to the situation?

• Are there alternative optimisation approaches or perspectives on the framework you should consider based on national guidelines or best practice?
• What support or guidance do you find yourself needing from your supervisor or stakeholders (such as senior physicists or clinical users) to resolve ambiguities in the organisation’s policies?
• How are you adapting your contribution to ensure it is practical, implementable, and aligned with local resources and existing local policy?
• Are you certain that your real-time decisions and proposed recommendations remain strictly within your defined scope of practice?
• If you encounter conflicting data between patient dose and image quality, how are you adjusting your analytical approach to find an optimal trade-off?

On action

What did you notice?

• How would you summarise the key steps you took to perform the patient dose audit for the chosen imaging procedure?
• What were the key components of the healthcare organisation’s optimisation framework that you reviewed, such as specific local policies or governance structures for radiation protection?
• What data on patient dose and image quality did you review, and how did the current dose levels compare to national or local diagnostic reference levels (DRLs)?
• What were the strengths and weaknesses of the existing optimisation framework and processes you encountered at the healthcare organisation?
• How did your individual contribution complement the local policy/framework, and what specific technical or procedural aspects did you focus on during the optimisation process?
• When performing the audit, what did you notice regarding the calibration of dose parameters or the assessment of uncertainties in the dosimetry data?

What did you learn from the activity?

• What new knowledge did you develop specifically in your ability to interpret dose audit results and formulate evidence-based recommendations for optimisation?
• What did you learn about the complex relationship between spatial resolution, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and radiation dose in the context of this specific imaging task?
• How has this experience improved your understanding of how local policies and procedures systematically guide optimisation efforts in a clinical environment?
• In what ways did your reflection-in-action—the decisions you made while collecting or analysing data—influence the accuracy of your final recommendations?
• What did you learn about the practical limitations of current dose collection methods or the challenges of balancing diagnostic quality with the principle of ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable)?
• How does the ability to contribute to an organisation-wide framework relate to the high-level interpretive and professional responsibilities of a post-programme Clinical Scientist?

What will you take from the experience moving forward?

• What specific areas for continued development have you identified in your ability to perform complex patient dose surveys or assess risks for individual patients?
• How can you apply the learning from this activity to your routine practice, particularly when tasked with reviewing new imaging protocols or investigating high-dose outliers?
• What specific ‘next steps’ will you now take—such as attending an optimisation meeting or reviewing the latest national guidance on DRLs—to support the assimilation of what you have learned?
• What support or resources, such as specialist mentoring or access to electronic dose management systems, would be beneficial for your ongoing development in radiation protection?

Beyond action

Have you revisited the experiences?

• How has your understanding of performing dose audits and interpreting results evolved since you first contributed to the optimisation of an imaging procedure?
• When evaluating the organisation’s optimisation framework, have you revisited your initial findings in light of subsequent experiences with different modalities or new national diagnostic reference levels (DRLs)?
• How does your approach to conducting a patient dose audit compare to your performance in related Observed Training Activities (OTAs) or clinical experiences, such as attending an optimisation meeting?
• Has professional storytelling with senior physicists or clinical colleagues changed your perspective on the challenges of balancing spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio against patient dose?
• As part of a holistic review of the Diagnostic Radiology Physics module, what specific behaviours—such as systematic data collection or evidence-based reporting—have you now successfully assimilated into your own practice?

How have these experiences impacted upon your current practice?

• How has this activity influenced your ability to critically evaluate patient dose parameters and assess uncertainties in dosimetry within your routine work?
• In what ways did this experience support your preparation for the Observed Clinical Event (OCE): ‘Present the results of a patient dose audit… including suggestions for how to optimise’?
• How has your contribution to the organisational optimisation framework enhanced your understanding of the legislative and governance requirements that you must follow in your current role?
• Can you identify specific instances where your communication skills have improved when explaining the risk of radiation-induced effects or the results of a dose survey to a multidisciplinary team?
• How has your practice evolved to more consistently incorporate quality improvement initiatives that align with local policies and the principle of ALARP?

How might these experiences contribute towards your future practice?

• Which transferable skills developed through this activity—such as data analysis, risk assessment, and stakeholder engagement—will be most essential for your future role as a Clinical Scientist?
• How will your ability to interpret dose audit results and make recommendations for optimisation contribute to ensuring patient safety and high-quality clinical outcomes in your future career?
• What clear actions for continued development have you identified, such as mastering electronic dose data collection systems or staying updated on new hybrid imaging technologies?
• What resources or specialist mentoring will you seek to further develop your expertise in commissioning and auditing complex optimisation frameworks across various diagnostic radiology modalities?

Relevant learning outcomes

#	Outcome
# 6	Outcome Perform a patient dose audit, interpret the results and make recommendations for optimisation strategies.