An investigation into breast imaging as part of the undergraduate (UG) education of diagnostic radiography students in the UK

•A summary of undergraduate (UG) breast imaging in the UK.•Themes around the delivery of UG breast imaging education in university and practice.•Opinions of UG course leaders and other stakeholders about UG breast imaging education.•There is a variation across UK universities in exposure to breast imaging education.•This may have some effect on recruitment into breast imaging as a specialism.

IntroductionHow mammography is incorporated into undergraduate (UG) radiography training may influence student perception of the speciality and its potential as a future career option. An overview is provided of the academic and clinical content of UG radiography courses relating to mammography across the UK.MethodsUsing mixed methods and an iterative, inductive approach supplying quantitative and qualitative data, we identify any variations and discuss possible causes which may help influence future training strategies.A self-designed questionnaire containing open and closed questions was sent online using SurveyMonkey™ to course leaders of all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) offering BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography courses in the UK. Responses were analysed for trends which were further explored by semi structured telephone interviews. These were transcribed and evaluated using a thematic analysis, the themes being categorised and coded.Results19 of 24 (79%) HEIs responded to the questionnaire. Follow up telephone interviews were conducted with five course leaders to further explore themes. Academic teaching ranged from 3 to 25 h over the 3 year course. Compared to other specialities 10 (53%) HEIs spent less time on mammography with 12 (63%) citing HCPC standards as the reason. 11 (65%) HEIs sent students on mammography placements, 2 (12%) sent females only. Placement times ranged between 2 days and 2 weeks. Influences included availability of expert teaching and relationship with clinical departments.ConclusionThere is variation in undergraduate exposure to mammography. Students views should be sought to add validity to these findings