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

Aim: To evaluate the results of the summative objective structured examination (OSE) for the first four cohorts of radiographers (n ¼ 24) undertaking an accredited postgraduate course in reporting computer tomography (CT) head examinations.

Method: The 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 ¼ 24) final reports (n ¼ 600) were analysed to determine the sensitivity, specificity and agreement values and concordance for the four cohorts.

Results: The four cohorts (2007e2013) 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.