Psychological Safety of Radiologic Science Students

Area of Science:

• Radiologic Science Education
• Medical Education
• Healthcare Professions Training

Background:

• Psychological safety is crucial for student learning and development in demanding academic fields.
• Radiologic science programs involve diverse learning environments, including classrooms and clinical settings, each potentially impacting student well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and compare the levels of psychological safety experienced by students within radiologic science programs.
• To identify how learning environment (classroom vs. clinical) and student academic level (junior vs. senior) influence psychological safety.

Main Methods:

• A revised Psychological Safety in High Fidelity Simulation scale was administered to students in accredited radiography, sonography, radiation therapy, MRI, and nuclear medicine technology programs.
• Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and paired t-tests were employed to analyze the collected data on psychological safety.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant difference was found in psychological safety scores between classroom and clinical settings, with higher scores reported in the classroom (P < .001).
• Senior students demonstrated significantly higher psychological safety scores compared to junior students in both classroom (P = .03) and clinical (P = .02) settings.
• The overall average psychological safety score for senior students was significantly higher than that of junior students (P = .02).

Conclusions:

• Psychological safety levels vary between classroom and clinical learning environments, being more prevalent in the classroom.
• Student academic progression (senior vs. junior) is associated with increased psychological safety.
• Educators can leverage these findings to implement targeted strategies for enhancing student psychological safety in radiologic science education.