CPD and other sonographers

10.4 CPD and other sonographers

Seven of the nine interviewees had comments to make about other sonographers’ practice of CPD, people who were either known to them or by hearsay. All seven stated they were aware of people who, they believed, did not wish to comply with CPD requirements. One interviewee recalled his time in management with the following:

From a manager’s point of view it was sometimes difficult to get staff to do anything even though they were encouraged. Some people just want to go to work and go home without any input. (Bob)

Similarly, There will always be people who do not see the need for CPD, they think it is just a matter of

bureaucracy and these people will always go for the simplest easiest way out, which may not go down well with colleagues. There is one type of sonographer who just plods along doing the daily basic work, follows protocols etc., and just doesn’t see the need for it [CPD] and doesn’t see or feel the need to do better.

(Deidre)

Both of these interviewees discussed how difficult and frustrating they found it to try and encourage unwilling sonographers to complete CPD. In the opinion of these participants, CPD was good for some people; however, others just wanted to stay in their own comfort zone.

It is frustrating working with people who are like this who don’t want to get out of their

comfort zone. (Deidre)

And from another, There are two types of people, those who want to know answers and reasons; these are the

ones who will do CPD anyway, and those who wouldn’t. Some people really enjoy learning but others just do the bare minimum. (Fred)

Sonographers were viewed as being quite highly motivated as a general rule, but… …as always within a group, there are those who won’t fit the mould and need to be directed

or encouraged to follow the pathway of best practice. (Jan)

One of the participants had heard from other sonographers that there were some who did not practise CPD with the result that their quality of work was poor.

It is human nature that there will always be some people who won’t comply with learning and just aren’t interested. Work and patients suffer. (Gloria)

Some thought that it was possible that extra workloads, management attitudes and stress may have a bearing on willingness to participate in CPD. One felt that CPD may make the job less stressful, but that was not the general feeling.

When people are busy at work and stressed they may not want to bother learning any more, but this may make the job less stressful. (Deidre)

Lots of people feel the extra workload…it’s [CPD] just an extra burden as there is so much to do anyway. CPD is right down at the bottom of the pile. Shortage of staff makes CPD harder, lack of time and tiredness. (Fred, speaking about his work colleagues)

Another, in a management position, commented that some staff grumbled frequently about CPD, but not necessarily sonographers,

Some staff grumble about doing CPD, so the main task is to encourage them, radiographers 4 are worse offenders than sonographers. (Celia)

Nevertheless, there was still a level of optimism shown that non-compliant sonographers may eventually be encouraged to see the value of CPD, as is evidenced by:

Not everyone can be enthusiastic and top notch, but with encouragement, the value of CPD may come out, and what the contribution of CPD is to a good working life. (Helen)

4 Sonographers and radiographers tend to work in medical imaging departments or practices together, but with separate roles. Some work as both, but there is some tension between the two at times due to differing levels of

qualifications and possible pay and workload inequities. It is thought by some sonographers that radiographers have a chip on their shoulder because sonographers play a more active role in patient diagnosis and have a closer working relationship with radiologists.

There is always the chance that exposure to learning may just trigger something in this person and they will become interested. People are capable of change. (Gloria)

Deidre who at the time of interview was a tutor sonographer had several other points to add which were not brought up by the other interviewees. She was concerned that although some people may do extra study, it may not necessarily be in the right areas. She was of the opinion that some sonographers may look for the cheapest option, although she did acknowledge that this may

be out of necessity: Some look for activities which will give them the most points at one go and also the

cheapest. This could be a relevant point with some, especially those with families who are not funded by their workplace. Some people refuse to spend money on their own education, which I find difficult to understand. (Deidre)

Another worry for this interviewee came from young graduates. From her point of view most of them want to get to the top without putting any effort in. She was concerned that if a subject did not seem relevant, a young person may not see the point of learning about it. A final worry for

her was that the sonographers who had been grandfathered 5 into accreditation may not be serious about continuing education as they had not initiated any during their career so far. In summary, the interviewees were of the general opinion that some, but by no means all, sonographers were unwilling to continue learning after qualifying, perhaps because they could not see the need for it. It was thought that perhaps some sonographers may need to be coerced into extra study. In the opinion of most of the interviewees, it is inevitable that in any group of professionals there will always be those who think they know all there is to know, but, in the main, most agreed that CPD was worthy enough to continue encouraging change amongst the unwilling. An interesting point was that several of the interviewees recognised that different personalities respond in different ways to learning and not all people think in the same way. These comments

5 At the outset of accreditation, sonographers who had been practising for more than five years continuously were ‘grandfathered’ i.e. granted accreditation whether a tertiary qualification had been gained or not. This gave rise to much

discussion and concern at the time, and continues to do so.

fitted in well with the theories of Kolb (1984) and Merriam and Caffarella (1999) who suggest that there are different personalities that need to be taken into account when learning and also different styles of learning.

Several points covered in this section are worthy of discussion. The first being that there were comments made which were based on hearsay and, as such, may not be entirely reliable. It is possible that the interviewee did not know who was being discussed in relation to the non- compliance and, as such, would not know if there had been an element of exaggeration in the story. So whilst gossip and hearsay are common ways of passing on information, it may not necessarily be totally factual. That being said, several of the interviewees stated that they did know people who did not comply with CPD, or were unwilling to do so. There are no known figures in relation to sonographers, but it has been stated in the literature that as many as 25 per cent of professionals will not practise CPD willingly (Furze & Pearcey, 1999; Postler-Slattery & Foley, 2003). In relation to this, the comments from these interviewees that a number of non-compliant sonographers could be expected are perhaps quite accurate. The results of the survey, however, revealed that the number of non-compliant sonographers is likely to be less than this, with only 8 per cent saying they would not participate in CPD if it was not mandatory, although 12 per cent were not sure.

Excessive workload and poor management style were cited as having an adverse effect in the uptake of CPD for sonographers other than the interviewees. This will be discussed in greater detail later in the chapter; however, it has been shown that overwork and poor management will have a detrimental effect on learning (Eraut, 2004; Cross, 1981). The optimists amongst the interviewees who believe that encouragement for CPD will eventually persuade staff to become more involved in CPD may succeed, as an encouraging and supportive atmosphere will aid in motivation of staff and the promotion of CPD to staff (Gawel, 1999; Huitt, 2001; O’Sullivan, 2003).

Comments regarding sonographers willing to participate in CPD, but apparently not in appropriate areas, can be looked at in a number of ways. It has been discussed that it can be difficult for a professional to know exactly what they need to know (Jennings, 2007) and in such a case guidance from a colleague, senior or tutor would be helpful. Whilst the activity may seem inappropriate from an outsider’s point of view, however, the sonographer in question may have a very good reason for undertaking the activity such as thoughts of transferring to another specialty, or just plain interest in the subject. On the other hand, as one interviewee mentioned, the comfort zone can have a strong hold, as discussed by Revel and Yusuf (2003), some people feel safer in a learning environment in which they are familiar with the contents. In addition, as was seen in Chapter 8, some sonographers may find it difficult to access appropriate activities at appropriate times and find themselves completing whatever is available, even though some did comment that they were still interesting and gave some extra knowledge.

Comments from Deidre about young people were interesting as they echo popular community beliefs that are seen and heard almost daily in the news media and from other older generations. This so called Generation Y group of people are often portrayed as opportunistic and wanting to run before they can walk in their careers. It is quite unrealistic to place all individuals in one generation in the same basket. Clearly not all young people act the same and whilst they may have some different traits or opinions than the older generations, young sonographers have still had to work hard to qualify and keep working. In fact, a recently published report by Square Holes Pty Ltd. (2007) has highlighted that despite the myths, young people are hard workers who are ambitious but are prepared to wait for financial rewards and success. Further to this, if one of these young sonographers seeks out learning activities that are of interest then this would fit well with adult learning theory which states that adults will learn best if the subject is something that interests them and has a worthwhile outcome. This applies to all adults.

Finally, the ‘grandfather’ debate needs a little more clarification in light of this study. Many sonographers began their sonography career as an extension to radiography, some before formal training was readily available. The main point of contention has always been that if during their career to date they did not seek out a formal qualification, then they would be unlikely to enter into much professional development after accreditation. This argument does have a good point; however, the survey results showed that those who responded who were ‘grandfathered’ were just as adamant about the necessity of mandatory CPD as those who were not. There could have been

a number of reasons for the lack of formal qualification and not all of them based on lack of interest.