Professional development
expected that a competent, experienced technologist can meet many of the criteria in this way, but most applicants will not be able to meet them all via this process alone.
Identifying any ‘gaps’
The next stage will be for the applicant to review his or her report, and to identify any gaps, which can then be filled in a number of ways. It may be that a project has already been carried out which was over and above the individual’s day-to-day role, and this may have already have been written up. If not, then a write-up can be included in the report which can then be referenced as evidence. There will, of course, be occasions where criteria cannot be met and the applicant then has a choice. It is always preferable to have first-hand experience and evidence in any report. The applicant should therefore discuss with their manager if there is anything that they can do which would then provide them with this evidence. If this is not possible, then an applicant will need to demonstrate understanding, and this can be achieved by writing about something from a theoretical point of view. The level of detail required will, however, be greater than if first-hand evidence is supplied, and this should be the exception rather than the rule. Applicants will not be able to demonstrate that they have the required level of experience and competence by simply writing about the role of a clinical technologist, and will therefore not be admitted to the register. RCT assessors are trained to look out for this.
Timescales for applicants It is expected that the equivalence report will be a substantial piece of work, and not something which can be written overnight. Applicants will be required to provide evidence, perhaps going back several years, to demonstrate that they meet the criteria. As a benchmark, a PTP student will undergo a three-year academic degree which incorporates 50 weeks of work experience placement, and this is the minimum requirement for registration. If someone has not been in employment for at least this length of time, then it is highly unlikely that they will be able to demonstrate to the assessors that they are competent enough to be registered.
Now that the equivalence route has opened to RCT applicants, it is expected that the register can continue to grow in size and stature, and welcome registrants from a wide variety of backgrounds. There is no reason why an individual cannot enter the profession as an apprentice, and study part-time to achieve their qualifications, while working towards eventual registration once the academic and practical requirements of the
68 Health Estate Journal September 2016
For engineering there is so much crossover between specialisms that it has been deemed that applicants can provide experiences from their own area of work to meet the criteria.
RCT have been met and adequately demonstrated through a successful equivalence application. It is still the aim of the RCT that the
clinical technologist profession will ultimately be subjected to statutory regulation. However, until there is a change in government policy, this is unlikely to happen. The recent accreditation of the RCT by the Professional Standards Authority to elevate the RCT to the status of an accredited register will ensure that the regulation of the clinical technologist
Iain Threlkeld
Iain Threlkeld BEng (Hons), CEng, FIHEEM, MIPEM, is head of Clinical Engineering at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Having begun his clinical engineering career as a placement student at St James’ University Hospital in Leeds as part of a BEng in Electronic and Electrical Engineering
sandwich course, upon graduation he worked at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust, gaining a number of years’ experience working on a wide range of medical devices.
In 2001 he took up an opportunity with Medical Physics International, at that time a small, Bolton-based third-party maintenance company. Here he travelled to hospitals in Nigeria and
profession continues to maintain the high standards which have been set. For full details on how to complete an equivalence application, and to download all the relevant documentation, visit the RCT website, at
www.therct.org.uk
References 1 The Register of Clinical Technologists [
www.therct.org.uk].
2
The Academy for Healthcare Science. Good Scientific Practice, December 2012. [
http://tinyurl.com/hzhn92l].
Kazakhstan maintaining medical equipment, simultaneously helping the company grow in the UK. In 2009 he returned to the NHS, taking up a role within the Clinical Engineering Department at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Through the workshops at Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke’s Hospital, a team of 17 are responsible for maintaining
and managing the Trust’s medical equipment.
Iain Threlkeld is a Fellow of the IHEEM, a Chartered Engineer, and a member of IPEM. A member of IHEEM’s Medical Device Technical Platform, and one of the Institute’s representatives on the Register of Clinical Technologists’ Management Panel, he has recently become the Panel’s assistant registrar.
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©IPEM
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