Abstract

This paper presents (re)interpreted findings from a focused ethnographic study of diagnostic radiographers within the practice setting, focusing on the X-ray request. Data was collected through interviews and non-participant observation within a radiography department (interviews n = 7; hours of observation n = 72) using Actor-Network Theory as a framework. The findings presented here focus upon the impact of the concepts related to radiation dose and diagnosis, and how these influence the practices of radiographers.

Within this paper the concepts of ‘as low as reasonably practicable’ (ALARP) and ‘Linear no-threshold’ (LNR) will be discussed and findings presented regarding to how these, along with patients, referrers, legislation, and other non-human entities influence the work of the diagnostic radiographer. The operationalisation of these concepts by radiographers is therefore a source of interest from both a professional and public health perspective.

Radiographers draw upon emergent practices to deal with their (and others) anxieties relating to diagnosis and treatment. The practices of ALARP by radiographers point not towards embodied practices which used the patient, their symptoms, as well as the X-ray machinery to apply the ALARP principle.

Dose within diagnostic radiography is a complex entity, inherently connected with the principles of ALARP, justification, and the diagnosis of the patient. The practicable nature of ALARP and the justification processes create emergent practices that move towards patients undergoing examinations.