The lived experiences of diagnostic radiography students undertaking workplace learning during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Radiography education serves as the foundation for the radiography profession and plays a crucial role in the development of skilled radiographers. These skilled radiographers must integrate advanced technical skills, extensive knowledge, and the use of complex technologies while providing patient-centred care. Consequently, radiography students undergo stringent training, enabling them to apply theory, techniques, and practical experience effectively in workplace settings before they qualify as radiographers. A core, compulsory, and inherent element of radiography training is workplace learning. In 2020, the global pandemic COVID-19 had unprecedented effects on healthcare systems, higher education institutions and workplace learning sites. South Africa declared a national state of disaster and implemented an alert level 5 lockdown in March 2020. Consequently, higher education institutions offering radiography had to temporarily discontinue workplace learning until such time students could safely resume their practicum. Once COVID-19 lockdown alert levels eased, radiography students were gradually reintroduced to workplace learning following appropriate COVID-19 training. Research on a person’s lived experience provides direct insight into individual encounters with specific events, leading to a deeper understanding of phenomena. While studies on the lived experiences of radiography students amid the COVID-19 pandemic have been conducted globally, there has been no research focused on radiography students in the Western Cape. Exploring the impact of unprecedented events like COVID-19 on radiography students offers an opportunity to improve higher education programmes. Therefore, this study seeks to explore and describe the lived experiences of 4th-year Bachelor of Science diagnostic radiography students who undertook workplace learning within the Western Cape amid the COVID-19 pandemic. An exploratory, descriptive and phenomenological qualitative approach was employed to explore, describe and understand the lived experiences of 4th-year BSc diagnostic radiography students who experienced workplace learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ethics approval for the study was obtained from the university of interest’s Research Ethics Committee. The lived experience of participants was elicited via unstructured focus group interviews, conducted either face-to-face or virtually. Data collection continued until data saturation was achieved, with an additional focus group interview conducted to confirm saturation. Data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis. Four themes were developed from the analysed data: perspectives towards workplace learning, barriers to effective clinical training, enablers of effective clinical training and coping mechanisms. Based on these themes and the understanding provided by the participants’ lived experience, guidelines and recommendations were formulated to assist educators in supporting students during pandemics. This study emphasises the need for flexible clinical training frameworks that support radiography students during crises. Adaptable learning models, strong communication, and emotional support to ensure students continue developing essential skills should be prioritised, thereby enhancing the quality of future healthcare education and practices.