The emerging radiographer's transient community service professional career pathway.

Background: Post-qualification regulatory 12-month community service (CS) was implemented in South Africa in 1998. Since the implementation, studies have been conducted in various disciplines to measure the impact on health services and on the affected professionals, but these did not include radiography professionals.

Aim: This study explored the expectations and experiences of student radiographers in respect of the CS concept as an integral transitional career pathway from the student radiographer role to that of a provisional practitioner in transit to acquiring registered radiographer practitioner status.

Distributed decision making in action: diagnostic imaging investigations within the bigger picture.

Introduction: Decision making in the health care system - specifically with regard to diagnostic imaging investigations - occurs at multiple levels. Professional role players from various backgrounds are involved in making these decisions, from the point of referral to the outcomes of the imaging investigation. The aim of this study was to map the decision-making processes and pathways involved when patients are referred for diagnostic imaging investigations and to explore distributed decision-making events at the points of contact with patients within a health care system.

An Evaluation of Research Ethics in Undergraduate Health Science Research Methodology Programs at a South African University.

The amended research ethics policy at a South African University required the ethics review of undergraduate research projects, prompting the need to explore the content and teaching approach of research ethics education in health science undergraduate programs. Two qualitative data collection strategies were used: document analysis (syllabi and study guides) and semi-structured interviews with research methodology coordinators. Five main themes emerged: (a) timing of research ethics courses, (b) research ethics course content, (c) sub-optimal use of creative classroom activities to facilitate research ethics lectures, (d) understanding the need for undergraduate project research ethics review, and (e) research ethics capacity training for research methodology lecturers and undergraduate project supervisors.

Healthcare provider and patient perspectives on diagnostic imaging investigations.

Background: Much has been written about the patient-centred approach in doctor-patient consultations. Little is known about interactions and communication processes regarding healthcare providers' and patients' perspectives on expectations and experiences of diagnostic imaging investigations within the medical encounter. Patients journey through the health system from the point of referral to the imaging investigation itself and then to the post-imaging consultation.

Ethical misconduct by registered physiotherapists in South Africa (2007-2013): A mixed methods approach.

Background: The role of ethics in a medical context is to protect the interests of patients. Thus, it is critically important to understand the guilty verdicts related to professional standard breaches and ethics misconduct of physiotherapists.

Aim: To analyse the case content and penalties of all guilty verdicts related to ethics misconduct against registered physiotherapists in South Africa.

Multiprovider and Patient Perspectives on Conveying Diagnostic Imaging Investigation Results in a South African Public Health Care System.

Introduction: This study explored interaction processes in conveying messages about the results of diagnostic imaging investigations in a public hospital complex in South Africa from the perspective of health care providers and patients.

Methods: The study was part of a qualitative inquiry into the interaction and communication processes relating to diagnostic imaging investigations in the public health care system. Data collection included individual interviews with 24 patients and 62 health care providers (ie, medical practitioners, specialists, radiologists, registrars, radiographers, and nurses).

Professional consequence for dentists involved in unethical decision-making in South Africa.

The previously gullible and apathetic South African public, generally speaking, is lately becoming increasingly rights-based sophisticated. Patients are no longer accepting inferior quality work and have become more knowledgeable especially regarding the expected skills and professional conduct of dentists. The present study examined archival material as published between 2007 and 2013 of penalties against ethical misconduct.