Nigerian e radiographers have been urged to imbibe the ethics and qualities of their practice for effective healthcare delivery across the country.

Mr Ayodele Okhiria, a former President, Association of Radiographers in Nigeria (ARNA), made the plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Okhiria spoke on the sidelines of a symposium organised by the Association of Radiographers of Nigeria (ARN), Lagos Chapter, to commemorate the 2018 World Radiography Day.

Its theme was: “Precision and Compassion: Radiographer’s Qualities.’’

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Radiography Day is celebrated annually on Nov. 8, which also marks the day of the discovery of X-radiation by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895.

Okhiria said that it was important for radiographers to keep abreast of the ethics of precision and compassion.

According to him, radiographers are healthcare providers who use state of the heart technology to deliver the best of care to their clients.

“Taking advantage of the modernity of these facilities, without losing the humanity that is required to address the issue of people who are healing or desire to prevent ailments.

“Theme of this year’s celebration captures the core ethics of the profession.

“It also captures the fact that as we move on with advanced technology, which helps us to advance in practice and make our job easier, we must also bring out the humanity in us.

“We should endeavour to show compassion  and be empathic to the patients.

“This is very important because when a healthcare provider loses the aspect of compassion, the practice becomes faulty.

“Irrespective of the level of technology, we will forever be dealing with human beings, and we must show them compassion, that is the essence of the theme,“ he said.

According to him, radiographers must always remember that as practitioners, they should not lose sight of the need to be empathic and compassionate, irrespective of the level of advancement.

Also, Prof. Nneoyi Egbe of the Department of Radiography and Radiological Science, University of Calabar, urged radiographers to embrace precision quality of the profession which emphasises accuracy and standard keeping.

Egbe said that most of the hospitals in Nigeria don’t have quality assurance of the equipment, which was an important aspect of the profession.

“In radiography, we make use of a lot of equipment which are driven by technological development and once equipment are there, we need to use them according to the books.

“In the aspect of precision, there is need for quality assurance in our practice, which means maintaining standards, such as standard equipment.

“That may be one of the reasons we have a large incidence of equipment downtime in the hospitals.

“So, when we look at precision and the need for upholding it in practice, it may perhaps remind us that we need to go back to the drawing board and ensure quality control unit in our hospitals is up to standard,” he said.

The expert said that there was also need for radiographers to up their games in terms of practice, such as technique, protocols and skills.

“We cannot be using old methods for the quality of service required and the diseases these days are very complex.

“While we stick on to precision and maintaining the rule, we must remember the second component of the rule, which is compassion.

“It places a burden on us to look at whatever we are doing with the human phase.

“Our practice is on the patient, both diagnostic and therapeutic, and the patient is a human being who needs to be respected and protected.

“This is why we need to strike a balance because when we talk on precision alone, we will practice without balance,“ Egbe said. (NAN)

– Nov. 9, 2018 @ 14:25 GMT |