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Assessment of C-arm Confidence Among ASRT Graduate Bridge Program Members
Lauren D Kerns1, Kevin R Clark2
1Manager of Radiology-Imaging for Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport-St Mary Medical Center in Louisiana. She graduated from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and recently completed her graduate studies in educational leadership at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. KRClark@mdanderson.org.
Purpose:
To identify the amount of C-arm preparation or instruction that recent graduates received in their radiography programs before starting clinical rotations and to determine whether completing more rotations increased their confidence in operating C-arm equipment.
Methods:
Members of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists' Graduate Bridge program who indicated a primary pathway in radiography received an invitation to complete the C-arm confidence survey and self-report their C-arm experiences during clinical education.
Results:
A third of the participants indicated they received preparation or instruction on C-arm equipment before beginning clinical rotations, with the majority of those indicating they had completed a C-arm laboratory. Almost half of the participants indicated that they were assigned to a minimum of 4 surgical rotations during their radiography program; nearly two-thirds indicated that they were not assigned additional clinical experience with C-arm equipment beyond those rotations.
Discussion:
Participants who completed 4 or more surgical rotations during their radiography clinical education reported significantly higher confidence levels regarding operating C-arm equipment compared with those participants who completed 3 surgical rotations (P = .005), 2 surgical rotations (P< .001), or 1 surgical rotation (P< .001). Those participants who completed more C-arm rotations reported significantly higher confidence in operating C-arm equipment than did those who completed only surgical rotations (P< .01). A Pearson correlation coefficient also revealed a significant positive relationship between participants' confidence levels after completing surgical and other C-arm rotations (P< .01). Participants' confidence levels increased after completing surgical rotations and other C-arm rotations such as in pain management and interventional radiography.
Conclusion:
Program directors, clinical coordinators, and radiography educators should consider implementing specific instruction on C-arm use and assigning students to more clinical rotations to increase students' confidence in their C-arm skills.
