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Communication standards

The HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Radiographers (2013) state respecting and being aware of how communication should be modified and addressed based on patients’ spiritual or religious needs. The Society of Radiographers echoes this in the Code of Professional Conduct. 

This emphasises the importance of religion and spirituality in radiotherapy. 

My project focuses on both, to be inclusive of all individuals, as “religion and spirituality” is a subjective concept. Even though this is included in the SoR’s standards of conduct, which are essential for all radiographers to abide by, there is sparse literature focusing on both support and care in radiotherapy, portraying an evident gap.

This initiative also serves to raise staff awareness and comprehension of religious and spiritual support in order to empower and support staff in engaging in such conversations, and interactions with persons who may require such support and connections. 

This will provide staff with the tools needed to engage more effectively in religion and spirituality care discussions. I wanted to explore the concept that through raising awareness from education, this would allow religion and spirituality conversations – when naturally arising – to develop instead of being shut down or dismissed.

Broad, delicate, complex

Religion and spirituality is an incredibly broad, delicate, complex, personalised topic so it can be very difficult and inappropriate to generalise. 

My goal was to produce guidance for staff so that if conversation did arise, they'd know how to broach it and how to openly engage, or signpost and refer.

As a student, I realised there was a gap in holistic care provided in radiotherapy - the religious and spiritual support available. 

This stemmed from my dissertation topic and discussion around this area, and allowed me to conduct a project at work in raising awareness and understanding of religious and spiritual support in radiotherapy. 

It is evident that patients would benefit from a greater interaction with Therapeutic Radiographers regarding religion and spirituality too. This can be applied to holistic care, which is an essential component of radiotherapy.

This was accomplished by liaising with religion and spirituality support services in the hospital, including the chaplaincy team, and understanding their role in the provision of pastoral care in a wider capacity and more in-depth. 

I have built a rapport with the chaplaincy team to help raise awareness for our patients and staff.

Awareness and understanding

The project is aimed at all radiotherapy staff including nurses, review staff, reception and scheduling teams, and all Therapeutic Radiographers. There is research that finds healthcare professionals may believe religion and spirituality is a personal topic, and that discussing this with patients would be intrusive or inappropriate.

Understandably, this is a deeply personal and subjective topic from a personal and professional perspective, and I understand some unease surrounding this based on personal values and beliefs. 

The subjectivity and sensitivity of the topic creates potential barriers when discussing religion and spirituality with patients. This is a complex, multifaceted subject with many areas to explore. 

To break this down, I have been focusing on raising awareness and understanding of religion and spiritual support services for patients, their families, and their loved ones. I hope to provide staff with the tools to engage in such conversations more confidently, and a safe, open space to discuss their religious and spiritual support needs. 

With staff awareness, I have acted as a religious and spiritual support liaison in the department. 

I am passionate about this subject and am happy to talk about this in any capacity, from discussing others’ experiences and opportunities, to developing or filling gaps. 

Building a foundation

Initially, I conducted much groundwork for the project to gain depth of knowledge and build my knowledge base of religious and spiritual care and support through conversations with different organisations, to understand how they can support patients in this capacity, and building links with the local chaplaincy team.

After building a foundation in this area, I then tailored a presentation to up-skill the review team. 

Then, religious and spiritual support information and question and answer sessions were held to provide staff with the tools and empowerment to engage in such conversations more confidently, as well as to address any questions or discussion points. 

I also recorded this in-person session for future reference. 

The session was available virtually to increase engagement and access for the Swindon radiotherapy satellite centre. It informed staff on where to signpost and patients on how to find quiet prayer spaces, the support services available to them and how to access.

From my research dissertation I was inspired to apply this to my practice and create better care in this unrecognised and distinctive area. 

It was positive seeing staff engage and interact well with the presentation and information – there were some interesting points made, and discussions surrounding use of quiet spaces, signposting chaplaincy, and how to interact with patients when you do not know much about their beliefs and values but would like to engage respectfully. 

This is a developing area in the department, and the provision of care in radiotherapy.

I am excited to see the bettering and tailoring of care for our patients in our multi-ethnic, diverse society. Engaging in such discussions will help our patients feel heard and seen, and provide them with support in line with the holistic care model. 

It was optimistic seeing questions and people really thinking about religious and spiritual support, and caring for our patients in a different capacity and in line with the holistic care model.

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