The 15 credit module, Reporting Skills in Nuclear Medicine, will cover Applied Anatomy, Nuclear Medicine Reporting and The Development of a Nuclear Medicine Report.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• apply relevant theoretical and practical knowledge of Nuclear Medicine to the reporting of images, demonstrating an ability to detect and describe normal and common pathological conditions encountered in routine clinical practice
• critically evaluate image quality in relation to potential imaging artefacts
• develop the clinical skills of the practitioner thus enabling description, discussion and evaluation of radionuclide imaging procedures
• demonstrate a critical understanding of various imaging protocols related to Nuclear Medicine and consider how these might affect overall image quality
• critically evaluate the implementation and provision of a non-medical Nuclear Medicine reporting service.
• demonstrate a critical understanding of service efficiency and clinical audit mechanisms whilst demonstrating an awareness of current legislation/clinical governance
• critically evaluate contemporary practice in nuclear medicine and other related imaging modalities in order to inform decision making processes
• critically evaluate the role of the reporting nuclear medicine practitioner within the context of an interprofessional environment
• utilise a formulated technical reporting framework, whilst demonstrating appreciation for the moral and ethical aspects of patient care and their subsequent treatment.

This course can contribute towards:

• PGCert Health and Social Care
• MSc Clinical Practice
• MSc Nuclear Medicine
• Professional Development Awards

Content

The module syllabus will typically include:

Applied anatomy

Applied anatomy, physiology and pathological processes will be introduced for a number of human body systems

Nuclear Medicine reporting

The following headings will be used to discuss the distribution and appearance of radioactive tracers used across a range of common Nuclear Medicine procedures:

• Normal patterns of uptake, distribution and excretion
• Common normal variants
• Appearance of common pathologies
• Artefacts commonly encountered
• Relevance to patient's management/treatment

Functional and anatomical image appearances within the hybrid-imaging environment (SPECT/CT only) will also be discussed.

The development of a Nuclear Medicine report

Reporting terminology and the construction of a report will be considered in line with current professional guidance

Additional syllabus content

The following areas will also form an integral part of the module delivery:

• Moral rules: ethical principles and philosophical approaches related to image interpretation
• The rights and duties of healthcare professionals.
• The contractual obligations of professional practitioners including negligence and general legal principles
• Informed consent and the importance of confidentiality
• Service enhancement and current clinical legislation/governance
• Service re-design, innovation and professional role development
• Approaches to decision making in professional practice.

Learning and Teaching

The learning and teaching strategy for this module has been developed to provide you with the opportunity to analyse the current status of Nuclear Medicine reporting services and to consider a number of developmental opportunities that exist within this field for the Nuclear Medicine Practitioner

To ensure engagement throughout the module, you will be required to contribute to discussion boards where specific tasks will be set. These tasks will be constructed to help you meet with the learning outcomes of the module. Contributions to these tasks will form source material from which you may extract content to add to your portfolio/written assignment. 

A variety of teaching approaches will be utilised within the module.

Scheduled learning will include approximately 30 hours engaged with online lectures, seminars, tutorials, discussion board entries and article critique. 

Independent learning will include up to 120 hours engaged with essential reading, portfolio preparation and construction, assignment construction and personal reflection on learning

Additional student-centred learning guided by tutorials and discussion will include:

• Evaluation and discussion of current working practices
• Consideration as to the future role of the Nuclear Medicine Practitioner.

Work-based learning

You will be required to complete approximately twenty five percent of the portfolio cases within "supervised reporting sessions" and time to undertake this should be discussed with the clinical mentor/departmental management prior to the commencement of the module.

Assessment

Assessment for this module comprises a reporting portfolio and a 1,500 word written assignment which will be used to assess the achievement of the learning outcomes.