Hello,
Has anyone been asked to submit CPD for audit as a PACS Manager? Any help (esp layout/template) would be appreciated.
There is guidance on the HCPC web site Completing a CPD profile for audit | The HCPC
The ‘template’ is fixed by the HCPC (it has sections you upload into on the website) so not to worry too much about that.
You need to have covered off a range of learning and development activities over the past 2 years though.
Gather up the evidence (certificates, timetables etc.) and write your reflective pieces for each if you haven’t already, making sure they cover all the necessary areas of practice.
For ‘pure’ PACS Managers you’d be looking at things like regional meetings, national ‘user group’ type events, UKIO/ECR/RSNA etc., the national informatics courses, mentoring peers, taking courses in networks/management/Microsoft etc. etc. along with the usual read and repeat from practice journals, trade magazines etc.
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I think it is easy for a radiographer to get swallowed up in the PACS world and then deskilled to the point of being clinically “neutralized.”
I found that it took about 18 months of solid PACS work to put a dent in my clinical abilities. Radiography is a perishable skill! That was a long time back, in 2008.
When I was doing agency PACS work in 2015 I applied for an honorary contract as a radiographer at the same place I was doing the PACS work. That helped a lot, to keep active in the game.
My view is, whether you satisfy HCPC requirements or not, you need to keep the clinical skills fresh in some way if you want to continue to use the protected title of Radiographer.
There are a lot of PACS managers out there, still registered as Radiographers with HCPC and they haven’t done a lick of clinical work in more than 10 years. I think it is an easy problem to solve, as long as you don’t mind doing some pro bono work.
I should also add: I wrote a job description for a band 7 deputy PACS manager at one Trust. One of the key points in that JD was the fact that this deputy would have at least three days of every month as protected clinical time. It was a non-negotiable requirement.
In some cases you need that, otherwise management can do as they please once you start. If you are a radiographer applying for a senior PACS job, it doesn’t hurt to ask if you can have it written into your contract that you have protected clinical time.
Remember though: if it isn’t written down, it does not exist. A lot of promises are made verbally in the interview, and these can evaporate fairly rapidly once the job is started.
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Excellent points as always Brandon, I wonder how many (clinical) PACS Managers do remain with at least some protected clinical time…
Hi Somera,
I was called up for audit a few years back - I’ve DM’d you with some info.
All the best
Andy
Thanks so much Andy- that’s really helpful!
When I was called for audit I was in the PACS manager role and did still have some clinical time mainly MRI evenings I focussed on clinical audit evidence and departmental governance procedures and tasks as PACS manager which indicated clinical skills such as PACS imports and the recognition patterns of CT vs MRI for example, overseeing clinical practice using PACS as examples of where corrections need to be made and having that clinical background really brings benefits in my opinion.