Forging connections: Nechia Omiyi on why she established a CPD journal club
Nechia Omiyi came to the UK as an international recruit in 2020. Inspired by her move, she set up a journal club for colleagues participating in continuing professional development. She tells Synergy how the group supports radiographers
By Marese O'Hagan
Continuing professional development (CPD) is a core part of any healthcare professional’s career. So it’s easy to understand why Nechia Omiyi, a sonographer in the private sector, quickly chose to focus on her CPD training when she came to the UK. Soon after arriving from Nigeria, Nechia saw an opportunity to help support her own and her colleagues’ CPD by establishing a journal club.
Described as a professional development discussion forum, Nechia’s journal club sessions see one colleague taking the lead and teaching other attendees about a certain aspect of ultrasound training. Participants take turns being in charge so they can learn from each other. “You research a topic and then you come and teach the group via Zoom,” she explains.
But professional development wasn’t the only driving force for setting up the journal club, Nechia tells Synergy. “I came to the UK as a sonographer in January 2020, and shortly after we had the pandemic lockdown in March,” she says. “I worked in the private healthcare sector, and of course we don’t have a lot of sonographers like the NHS has. We just have one sonographer per clinic so you sort of work in isolation, and lockdown made that even worse – working alone, not having colleagues to talk to. So 2020 was quite a difficult year.”
In Nigeria, before the pandemic, Nechia was used to participating in weekly meetings for continuing medical education (CME – a US term for CPD) each Friday. She also participated in a number of international CME classes from 2011 onwards, stretching across the US and the UK.
CPD is not one definitive course. Instead, it takes the form of a number of offerings for healthcare professionals. Many organisations – including the SoR–- run events designed for members participating in CPD.
Out of the blue
The idea to create the journal club came to Nechia towards the end of 2020. After obtaining support from her sonographer colleagues in the private sector, she scheduled the sessions to take place once every two weeks on a Tuesday morning, starting in January 2021. “Of course, some months we had breaks,” Nechia admits. “Last year, for instance, I was away doing my MBA programme so I didn’t have as much time to organise a webinar every two weeks. It was a bit scanty. But when we could pick up, we picked up.”
While the journal club was born from Nechia’s wish to collaborate with colleagues and to pick up her pre-pandemic training, there was also another motive – she noticed a gap in the availability of CPD education happening around her. “That’s how it started, because I saw there was a need,” she continues. “We didn’t really have as many CMEs as we should have been having.”
The group took shape quickly, growing from a few colleagues to a much wider audience in a short time. Advertising on LinkedIn, Nechia explains, is a great way to reach a wider audience. “As I speak, we already have 300 registrants,” she says of a recent journal club session. “It has really grown.”
Nechia’s husband – who is also a radiographer – has been very supportive of her efforts in growing the journal club.
Out of the blue
The idea to create the journal club came to Nechia towards the end of 2020. After obtaining support from her sonographer colleagues in the private sector, she scheduled the sessions to take place once every two weeks on a Tuesday morning, starting in January 2021. “Of course, some months we had breaks,” Nechia admits. “Last year, for instance, I was away doing my MBA programme so I didn’t have as much time to organise a webinar every two weeks. It was a bit scanty. But when we could pick up, we picked up.”
While the journal club was born from Nechia’s wish to collaborate with colleagues and to pick up her pre-pandemic training, there was also another motive – she noticed a gap in the availability of CPD education happening around her. “That’s how it started, because I saw there was a need,” she continues. “We didn’t really have as many CMEs as we should have been having.”
The group took shape quickly, growing from a few colleagues to a much wider audience in a short time. Advertising on LinkedIn, Nechia explains, is a great way to reach a wider audience. “As I speak, we already have 300 registrants,” she says of a recent journal club session. “It has really grown.”
Nechia’s husband – who is also a radiographer – has been very supportive of her efforts in growing the journal club.
What happens at the CPD journal club?
Topics explored at the journal club vary widely, but are all within – or related to – the ultrasound modality. “We teach ourselves a lot of ultrasound topics, even those not directly related to ultrasound,” Nechia explains. “Subjects such as how to deliver difficult news; topics on different areas in our professional practice. It really helps because there can never be a knowledge overload.”
Nechia has found that the journal club topics have helped members prepare for real-life situations in their day-to-day jobs. Learning about a particular topic at the club keeps it fresh in attendees’ minds for when they might have to face it. “Interestingly, each time we discuss a case – for instance, if we talk about something around ectopic pregnancy – that week two people with you might have [to deal with] an ectopic pregnancy,” Nechia says. “So it became very obvious that this was really useful, because you went through it recently. It will be so fresh in your head that, when you see it, it’s so easy to identify.”
Looking ahead
In the four years since its inception, Nechia’s CPD journal club has already developed beyond her expectations. “It has actually grown beyond just my colleagues where I work now,” Nechia says proudly. “It’s gone beyond us teaching each other. I started to invite people from the NHS – radiographers, radiologists. And of course, the last person I invited, the last guest speaker, she works in the NHS. She said: ‘Can we do a flyer? Let more people come in. Let’s open it up.’ So we did that.”
As well as extending the club out to people from other modalities, Nechia could even expand beyond the borders of the UK. “I see it going beyond the shores of this country, because I see that there’s a need,” she continues. “Perhaps in the UK we have enough resources, but outside there’s a shortage of such resources when it comes to CPD, the CMEs. I see it going far beyond the UK.”
Making the journal club more accessible not only speaks to Nechia’s determination, it also shows how much groups like this are needed and appreciated among radiographers. CPD can be viewed as a mere career necessity for radiographers and other healthcare workers. But Nechia’s journal club shows there are tangible benefits to collaborating with colleagues, forging strong professional relationships and learning from one another. As she says: “CPD is all about gaining knowledge and applying it to the work you do every day.”
More about CPD from the SoR
The SoR offers a number of CPD resources for members. To access the CPD Now online tool – the College of Radiographers’ online CPD service – click here. CPD Now has guidance, resources and information on the HCPC audit for CPD participants.
Information on CPD policies, guidance and funding can be found here.
To read the latest CPD updates on SoR News, click here.
The SoR also encourages those offering CPD events to seek College of Radiographers CPD endorsement of their event. An event, programme, or short course that has been endorsed by the College of Radiographers has demonstrated that the content meets the professional body’s required standards for Continued Professional Development (CPD) and a number of core CPD Now outcomes. To find out more click here.
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