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Fluoroscopy is a method used to provide real time x‐ray imaging of the body during medical procedures to assist with medical diagnosis and treatment. Recent technological advances have seen an increase in the number of fluoroscopic examinations being performed. Nurses are an integral part of the team conducting fluoroscopic investigations and are often located close to the patient resulting in an occupational exposure to radiation. The purpose of this review was to examine recent literature which investigates occupational exposure received by nursing staff during cardiovascular fluoroscopic procedures. Articles published between 2011 and 2017 have been searched and comprehensively reviewed on the referenced medical search engines. Twenty‐four relevant studies were identified among which seventeen investigated nursing dose comparative to operator dose. Seven researched the effectiveness of interventions in reducing occupational exposure to nursing staff. While doctors remain at the highest risk of exposure during procedures, evidence suggests that nursing staff may be at risk of exceeding recommended dose limits in some circumstances. There is also evidence of inconsistent use of personal protection such as lead glasses and skull caps by nursing staff to minimize radiation exposure. Conclusions: The review has highlighted a lack of published literature focussing on dose to nurses. There is a need for future research in this area to inform nursing staff of factors which may contribute to high occupational doses and of methods for minimizing the risk of exposure, particularly regarding the importance of utilizing radiation protective equipment.

Knowledge updating is an essential learning activity for professionals. This study adopted Vygotsky's (1981) triadic model of learning mediated by tools as a theoretical framework to examine inter-relationships that may exist between subject, educational tool and object. This mixed methods study investigated knowledge updating practices of Australian health professionals. The findings demonstrate there are multiple often conflicting relationships that influence adoption, access and uptake of educational tools among professionals. By examining the inter-relationships, this study has provided a more nuanced understanding of factors that impact upon professional knowledge.

This research examined a fundamental aspect of delivery of high quality healthcare – the professional knowledge updating practice of health professionals. While prior studies have investigated aspects of professional knowledge updating, such as information sources utilised, factors influencing the level of activity or workplace access to needed information sources, there remains a need for an integrated investigative framework. This study adopted Engeström’s (2001) Activity System model as a framework to concurrently examine the contemporaneous value and use of electronic and non-electronic information sources for updating professional knowledge, as well as the factors that afford or constrain use of and workplace access to these tools. Each profession has their own unique disciplinary knowledge, whereby the information sources that disseminate new knowledge are contextually bound. The group selected for study was the Medical Radiation Science (MRS) profession. The study was implemented using a two-phase sequential mixed methods design. Phase 1 adopted a qualitative methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 participants representing four distinct areas of specialisation within the MRS profession: nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, radiography and sonography. Phase 1 sought to establish what information sources were utilised by MRS professionals to update their professional knowledge and to identify the perceived value and use of these sources. The findings from Phase 1 were used to inform Phase 2, which involved the development and administration of a questionnaire to Australian MRS professionals. The resultant participation rate was N=362, representing 31.7% of the posted questionnaires. Phase 2 sought to provide a descriptive account of professional knowledge updating practice within the MRS profession and establish factors influencing use of and workplace access to primary information sources for updating knowledge. The findings from this s

Purpose: The Internet is an important information source for health practitionersproviding immediate access to the most current health and medical information. Factorslimiting practitioner access to the Internet have been identified and the literature shows thataccess to the Internet varies across and within health professions. There is therefore a need foreach health profession to investigate practitioner access to the Internet. There has been, however,no identified empirical research investigating medical radiation science (MRS) practitioneraccess to or use of the Internet. This research sought to establish the professionaluse of Internet-based tools by Australian MRS practitioners and issues affecting access tothe Internet within MRS workplaces.Methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in this research. These includedinterviews with 28 MRS practitioners from the four areas of specialisation, namely nuclearmedicine, radiation therapy, radiography and sonography and a survey of MRS practitioners.In 2007 a 4-page postal survey was sent to a random sample of 1142 MRS practitioners witha response rate of 32.8%.Results: The Internet is an important information source widely used by MRS practitioners. MRSpractitioners search the Internet (87%), access specific web pages (86%), use email (82%) andlistservs (39.4%) to update their professional knowledge. It was evident that access to the Internetwithin the workplace varied within the MRS profession. Whilst the majority (96.4%) ofMRS practitioners had some level of access to the Internet in their workplace, factors shownto affect practitioner access were workplace setting (p Z 0.000), work environment(p Z 0.000), and geographic location (p Z 0.025). The majority of clinical workplaces (81%)did not provide practitioners with remote access to electronic resources available in the workplacesuch as e-journals and databases.Conclusions: This research provides baseline data to the MRS profession on the professio