Exploring the Definition of Clinical Radiography Leadership.

Purpose: To develop a model of clinical leadership that encompasses the specialized technical skills and leadership behaviors exhibited by clinical radiography leaders.

Methods: During this quantitative study, 432 clinical radiography leaders completed the Clinical Radiography Leadership Survey, which measured the technical skills and leadership behaviors aligned with clinical leadership in radiography. Data analysis included a correlational analysis to examine the relationships between the dimensions measuring technical skills and dimensions measuring leadership behaviors when defining clinical radiography leaders.

Results: Participant responses were correlated individually and aggregated by dimension, with Pearson values greater than 0.3 indicating a moderate or strong relationship. The highest interdimensional correlation existed between dimensions 1 (patient care skills) and 2 (technical and radiographic skills) (P = .715), while exhibiting weak correlations to dimensions associated with clinical leadership behaviors. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a more global view of clinical leadership behaviors, in addition to patient care and technical skills, informed participants' view of clinical radiography leadership.

Discussion: Participants viewed the technical aspect of their practice as the most salient, and survey items related to professional communication and using sound clinical decision-making skills correlated highly with the leadership behaviors exhibited and valued by clinical radiography leaders.

Conclusion: By defining the clinical expertise, technical skills, and commonly practiced leadership behaviors that clinical radiography leaders encompass, other health care professionals will recognize the unique contribution that the radiologic science profession provides.