Digital Health: How should radiographers be trained when it comes to DH? The approach at Monash University

Background

Digital Health (DH) is a fundamental principle of healthcare as technological advancements reshape healthcare delivery to enable safer, better-quality healthcare. There is much thinking to be done to consider how healthcare professionals of different types should be trained when it comes to DH to prepare a future-focused workforce. This is particularly crucial in medical imaging as radiographers operate in technologically rich environments. It is imperative that radiographers use DH technologies to optimise their techniques and understand their obligations when working in technologically rich environments.

Methods and Results

The presentation explores the multifaceted approach taken toward embedding DH into the radiography curriculum at one University in Australia. It emphasises the application, challenges, and impact of DH education. The Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University worked to establish a curriculum framework with common education needs across all health professional degrees. DH education is integrated in a consistent yet tailored way. One of the most commonly reported challenges of DH education is the alignment of teaching, learning and assessment with real-world scenarios. We have addressed this by bringing real-life scenarios and expertise into the educational experience. Students wrestle with issues that present in medical imaging. The presentation will present a series of case studies to showcase this. A diverse range of DH assessment strategies have been described in the literature. Assessment strategies that align with the unique characteristics of DH technologies must continue to be developed.

Conclusion

Integrating DH into healthcare education is imperative to prepare a workforce that can effectively operate in these environments. Teaching learning and assessment strategies that are authentic to real-life must be embedded in DH education in healthcare. There remains a need to develop standardised frameworks for assessment in DH.