Hospitals to offer contracts to UCC radiography students

Hospitals in the south of the country, which are hard-pressed to recruit radiographers, have committed to offering contracts to students who complete a new Masters in Diagnostic Radiography at University College Cork (UCC).

The South South West Hospital Group (SSWHG), which includes 10 hospitals, has also committed to sponsoring 15 radiography students for each of the two years of the new clinical MSc programme.

The initiative is in the context of a national shortage of radiographers.

Last November, Fianna Fáil health spokesman, Stephen Donnelly, said the shortage was “rapidly becoming a dangerous situation which the government needs to act urgently on”.

His comments came in the wake of revelations that Naas General Hospital had suspended its Dexa service to GPs due to a shortage of radiographers.

Dexa scans measure bone density and are used to diagnose bone diseases such as osteoporosis.

The UCC course, officially launched this week, commenced last September within the College of Medicine and Health’s School of Clinical Therapies.

The school head, Professor Jeanna Jackson said it is "an extremely exciting time for the development of radiography in the southern region and an opportunity for University College Cork to become a centre of excellence for radiography education”.

Work is underway to have the programme accredited by CORU, the multi-profession health regulator.

The new Masters is an accelerated pre-registration programme for students with a primary degree in science or clinical health-related discipline.

UCC has invested in the capital fit-out of a radiography suite, teaching space and offices in what was known as Áras Watson, after the American geneticist and Nobel Prize winner Dr James D Watson.

The building is in the process of being renamed as Dr Watson recently re-iterated racist comments, claiming there is a direct correlation between intelligence and race.

A naming committee is due to decide on a new name in June.

Students who sign up to the new course will receive more than 1,000 hours of clinical placement in various hospitals across the SSWHG as well as some private centres.

Radiographers use x-rays, magnetic imaging resonance and ultrasound to evaluate patients and help assess and diagnose injuries and illnesses.

They typically work in hospitals, clinics or doctor's offices.