Student radiographers’ perceptions of evidence-based practice during clinical placements: implications for health professional education

Educating students to become evidence-based practitioners remains a significant challenge in health professional education. Clinical placements form a significant element of curriculum and the impact of students’ placement experiences on their ability and desire to practice in an evidence-based manner remains largely unexplored. Medical imaging students complete a variety of clinical placements and observe and participate in a range of clinical settings. This study utilised focus groups to explore students’ experiences of evidence-based practice (EBP) during clinical placements, the impact of these experiences on their education and their future tendencies within the profession. Reflexive thematic analysis was utilised to analyse data and three main overarching themes were identified. The first theme, “Education” explored participants’ understanding of the concept of EBP, the importance of sound pedagogy to enable students’ ability to practice in an evidence-based manner and explored the relationship between participants’ placement experiences and their future EBP tendencies. The second theme investigated, “Culture and responsibility” and was divided into three subthemes, professional, organisational, and individual. Focusing on where the responsibility for implementing EBP should lie and the impact of culture on individuals’ ability to implement evidence-based practice. The third theme, “Hopes, fears, and barriers” explored the participants’ sense of responsibility around implementing EBP and the barriers that they had experienced in doing so. It illuminated their fears around becoming apathetic as clinicians. Improving the teaching of EBP skills within health professional education has the potential to enhance the translation of knowledge into practice as graduates become clinicians within the profession.