CT head reporting by radiographers: Results of an accredited postgraduate programme

• We evaluated the results of the first four cohorts of radiographers.
• The construction of the exam contained twenty five CT head examinations.
• The examination incorporated 1:1 normal to abnormal pathological examples.
• The exam reports were analysed to determine the sensitivity, specificity, agreement.
• Radiographers in an academic setting have high accuracy in CT head interpretation.

AimTo evaluate the results of the summative objective structured examination (OSE) for the first four cohorts of radiographers (n = 24) undertaking an accredited postgraduate course in reporting computer tomography (CT) head examinations.MethodThe construction of a summative OSE contained twenty five CT head examinations that incorporated 1:1 normal to abnormal pathological examples. All cases were blind reported by three consultant radiologists to produce a valid reference standard report for comparison with the radiographer's interpretation. The radiographers (n = 24) final reports (n = 600) were analysed to determine the sensitivity, specificity and agreement values and concordance for the four cohorts.ResultsThe four cohorts (2007–2013) of postgraduate radiography students' collective OSE results established a mean sensitivity rate of 99%, specificity 95% and agreement concordance rates of 90%. The final grades indicate that within an academic environment, trained radiographers possess high levels of diagnostic performance accuracy in the interpretation of CT head examinations.