ISRRT_COVID-19_book

Radiography Education during the COVID-19 pandemic –
Gareth Thomas
Experiences from an Academic/Clinical Educator
The COVID-19 virus was first detected in the United Kingdom (UK) in late January 2020. As of
26 June 2021, there had been more than 4.7 million confirmed cases and 128,330 deaths
among people who had recently tested positive – the world's nineteenth-highest death rate
by population.
On 23 March 2020, the UK went into lockdown. The U.K. government imposed a stay-at-home
order banning all non-essential travel and contact with other people, and shut all schools,
businesses and gathering places. Those with symptoms, and their households, were told to
self-isolate, while those with certain illnesses were told to shield themselves.
From a university perspective there was a rapid mobilisation to online teaching which was a
strange, if not uncomfortable time for both lecturers and students. As a lecturer you soon
became aware of the sudden realisation how this will impact the student experience. The
Diagnostic Radiography programme within my institution was fortunate, due to the ability to
use clinical simulation suites in lieu of clinical placements – though this was not a true realistic
clinical experience.
Cardiff University resorted to a remote learning approach with one aim; to maintain high
quality teaching using a blend of e-learning and assessment. As an educator I soon had a
greater understanding of the effectiveness of providing pastoral care for our students who
were away from home and their families. Staff well-being was important, and lecturers were
fortunate to access Cardiff University’s “Employee assistance programme” and “Well-being
days”. These provided respite to the long days sat in front of a computer monitor teaching,
attending meetings compounded the stress us lecturers were gradually facing day by day.
Within weeks we were soon made of aware of the wider ramifications of COVID-19. The
Welsh government was liaising with the Welsh higher education sector to provide assistance
to the rapid numbers of infected cases that were having a massive impact on our health
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