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Team working is a key part of the role of the diagnostic radiographer. In many aspects of diagnostic radiography, a team approach is needed to carry out diagnostic imaging procedures and diagnostic radiographers need to be able to work as team members.
Introduction
This article poses the question; is team work in diagnostic radiography well choreographed or chaotic? We will use data from a recent doctoral study', to propose an answer.
How do you become a recognised member of the team?
There is very litde literature published about team working in radiography, however many authors have written about how people become part of work place culture and how they are socialised within a team.
How employees become a part of the culture and how they learn to take on their professional role is an aspect of organisational or professional culture. This can be summed up in the statement 'how we do things here'2. Manley2 says that values and beliefs contribute to shared meanings, understandings and expectations, which are tacit, are distinctive to particular groups of people and are passed on to new members. It is valuable to look at how people become socialised into their professional culture to help understand it. Lave and Wenger3 look at professional socialisation and how a newcomer joins a community of practice. The concept of a community of practice or professional network refers to the process of social learning (learning through close contact, imitation/role modelling and understanding of concepts) , support and collaboration that occurs within the workplace. Howkins and Ewens4 in their empirical study amongst community nursing students define professional socialisation as learning during education and training, the values, behaviours and attitudes necessary to assume die professional role, and knowing and understanding the profession. They suggest that it involves acquiring knowledge which produces the correct conduct and allows others from the profession to recognise them as competent.
One of the key aspects of socialisation is role modelling, a technique whereby new comers observe the behaviour of others and emulate them. Lewis and Robinson5 carried out a study in Australia to gain a greater understanding of role modelling in diagnostic and therapeutic radiography. The study was carried out in eight clinical centres, ranging from large to small hospitals....