Teaching Initiatives of the Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences

The Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences has engaged in a continuous process of teaching and learning innovation.

• SOLAR (Student Orientated Learning about Radiography)
  A computerised case oriented approach to practitioners learning how to apply academic theories and knowledge to practical clinical situations. Students begin a case orientated approach to learning radiography in first semester of second year.
• Medical Image Library
  A medical image library has been created to allow students access to relevant images to aid and assist in effective teaching and learning in the radiologic biology and radiographic and medical imaging units.
• Radiography and Medical Imaging Skills Laboratories

The department is committed to facilitating a range of clinical positioning and image recognition skills to enable students to make the most of their learning opportunities in the clinical centres.  The Department utilises lecture and teaching facilities located close to its physical location including a new Radiology facility.  The facility is designed to model a hospital radiology department including patient reception and waiting area, tutorial spaces and radiographer's office. These clinical quality radiographic facilities are used in practical teaching of radiation and radiographic methods.  This new facility features three x-ray rooms incorporating two fixed hospital x-ray systems, a C-arm fluoroscopy system and a mobile x-ray. In addition two medical ultrasound systems, a new computed radiography (CR) system for processing the x-ray images and a new Philips Brilliance Workspace Portal PACS (picture archiving and communication system) for extensive image handling capability are included. The Brilliance Portal drives numerous student workstations providing ready student access to images generated within the facility as well as from our affiliated hospitals.

• The utilisation of Objective Structured Clinical Examination assessment strategies to improve the pre-clinical preparation of first year students for clinical practice.
• The allocation of students to the clinical environment in each semester of years one to three which is directly related to the modality being taught on campus together with the implementation of the Novice to Expert model of clinical skill development
• The creation of a funded 24 week period of work based intensive clinical training in general radiography and computed tomography called the Professional Clinical Placement in final year of the course.