Date of Conferral

2017

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Nancy B. Walters

Abstract

Professional development courses that focus on increasing knowledge and improving skill sets are an integral part of a medical imager's career. This study was a qualitative formative evaluation with purposeful sampling of participants in a professional development webinar course offered to medical imaging professionals in 35 Latin American and Caribbean countries. The goal of this study was to aid the agency with identifying areas in which the efficacy of the program implementation and delivery could improve. The conceptual framework model, interest-problem-based learning (INTEREST-PBL) model, and Malcolm Knowles's theory on adult learning were used to ground this project. The research questions focused on the effectiveness of the implementation of the webinars, and the identification of areas of strengths and weaknesses. Data were collected from 7 participants using semi structured interviews and online questionnaires and was analyzed through coding and thematic analysis. Findings suggested that the absence of a formative evaluation during the early stages of implementation and deployment had an impact on the efficacy of the webinar courses.

Differentiated learning strategies with clearly defined goals as well as a mechanism for immediate and continued feedback need to be inserted into the webinar design. This study contributes to social change by postulating the use of an evaluation model and pedagogical tools that can assess educational programs for medical imagers that integrate global health policies, technical standards training, and the coordination and collaboration of healthcare partnerships, thus, improving their performance in the delivery of medical imaging examinations while increasing access to quality radiological examinations.

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