The Importance of Professional Values From Radiologic Technologists' Perspective

To determine radiologic technologists' perception of professional values.

A sample of 3500 American Society of Radiologic Technologists members was emailed the Radiologic Technologists' Perceptions of Professional Values Scale survey-modified from the Professionalism in Physical Therapy: Core Values Self-Assessment tool-which captured participants' demographic information (eg, education level, age, job title) and their ratings of 7 specific professional values. The mean item score was computed for each of the 7 professional values as well as the mean item score for the 61 items. A 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the mean item score for several demographic characteristics.

Of those who were emailed the survey, 716 consented to begin the survey. The mean scores of all 7 professional values were above 3.0, indicating that radiologic technologists perceived each of the professional values listed as important. The between-group ANOVAs showed no significant difference in perceived importance of professional values based on demographic characteristics.

Professional values encourage consistent patterns of behaviors, which motivate professionals to behave ethically. Therefore, professional values should be identified, adopted, and articulated for radiologic technologists by the bodies that lead the profession: the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, and the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology.

Survey respondents perceived the listed professional values as important, which might be the first step to identifying a set of values to guide those in the radiologic sciences and set a benchmark of professionalism that will help radiologic technology gain acknowledgement as a profession rather than a trade or vocation.