R-AI-diographers: Exploring the changing professional role and identity of radiographers in Europe in the era of AI

Artificial intelligence is being increasingly applied in medical Imaging and has the potential to improve quality, safety and efficiency of care and clinical service provision in medical imaging. Healthcare professionals working in this space, namely radiographers and radiologists, are also impacted in many different ways: the changing workflows demand a different skillset and competence framework, new tasks require new knowledge, relationships with patients are expected to change, while clinical tasks are slowly being taken up by AI technology. Educational provisions on AI in radiography remain sparse. Professional roles, career prospects and options may also be impacted. The changing job requirements may also inevitably impact the profile and demographics of radiography students and professionals in the future and could also shift the collective professional identity of the radiography practitioners, who have traditionally balanced between patient care and imaging technology. The aim of this work is to: i) bring together a team of experts to discuss the urgent issues on the changing radiography professional identity and roles, as impacted by the advent of AI in clinical practice, ii) explore the impact of AI implementation on the qualified radiographers’ roles and identity in Europe iii) explore the impact of AI implementation on radiography student perceptions for the profession and their careers, iv) offer recommendations that could help address the mismatch between educational AI provisions and clinical practice and support a sustainable future for radiography in Europe