Radiography Students' Learning of Plain X-Ray Examinations in Simulation Laboratory Exercises: An Ethnographic...

In addition to lessons and clinical training, simulation-based learning has become more ubiquitous in radiography students' learning. Plain examinations are in the core of radiography, and studying how students learn them in simulation is therefore essential when considering students' professional development. The purpose of this study was to describe radiography students' learning to perform plain X-ray examinations in simulation laboratory exercises. The aim was to understand how the students learned.

The data were gathered by observing and interviewing 17 radiography students as they performed laboratory exercises of plain X-ray examinations before clinical training. Learning was understood according to social constructivism and was examined from the perspective of interpretive ethnography. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method.

In simulation laboratory exercises, radiography students learned by model-based experimentation. Learning consisted of imaging bone and chest examinations of a manikin, evaluation of the images, and patient positioning and guidance among students. The learning method was collaborative learning. Three learning outcomes were found: simulation promoted theory-practice connection, simulation guided the students to follow instructions, and simulation strengthened collaboration between students. The factors supporting and impeding learning were the same: academic studies before the simulation and learning tasks. In addition, experimentation without teacher's supervision was an impeding factor for some students.

Simulation laboratory exercises with a manikin proved to be a useful learning method for radiography students in learning to perform plain X-ray examinations. The results indicated the need to pay attention to simulation pedagogy and students' academic skills.