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The issue of whether MRTs undergraduate training should be at the Diploma or Bachelor Degree level still meets with debate in many circles. Some don't see a need at all. Some have the wrong perceptions as to what the "Degree" means or doesn't mean, or whether it threatens them in their present job. Some don't question the need at all and because they have already graduated and are working, don't see it as a threat at all.
The question as to what the Degree is or isn't is often debated formally and informally. Should it be a pure radiation sciences degree? Should it be an add-on focussing on liberal arts or the social sciences? All of this adds to the emotional reactions that are occurring in our Profession today regarding the Degree Initiative.
The Board of Directors in 1993 issued a Position Statement (POSN 02-02-03, available on our website, www.oamrt.on.ca) that the undergraduate training shall be at the Baccalaureate level. The position has not changed.
In this article, I will be providing arguments as why the leaders of the Profession, your leaders support the vision that sooner than later all MRTs should be graduates of a degree program designed to gain entry to the Profession.
The health care climate of today is far different from when I trained and over 50% of when our Members trained. It is far more complex, far more demanding and rapidly moving to a multi- disciplinary environment. This requires different attitudes, different thinking and thus different education. In terms of education, it means a much broader or liberal model than can be accomplished through dedicated MRT programs alone.
Globalization and the technology economy are two sides of the same coin. Both developments are changing the world for better and for worse. Globalization is a term used to describe many changes in the world. These changes have to do with political, economic, and social relations that transcend cultures, boundaries, borders and national authority. This is especially true of economic globalization and this is the globalization most people refer to when using the term. It refers to the growth and speed with which capital travels the globe looking for the best opportunities to beget more capital regardless of geographical location.
The information economy refers to the health and speed involved in the accumulation, storing, processing and retrieval of information in electronics, computing and telecommunications. Together, these two developments produce quick changes leaving little time to adapt and change. This is especially true with respect to work, leisure, family, health, poverty, illiteracy, the concentration of wealth and education. Taken together, these developments can and do render some skills obsolete, demand the mastery of new ones, lead to high unemployment and simultaneously provide new employment opportunities for those with a command of the necessary and essential skills.
Nationally, these developments continue to influence the following trends:
Across the spectrum of opinion - private sector, all levels of government, academia - there is agreement that liberal studies education is critical to the development of necessary employment skills and to the personal development essential to produce responsible citizens without which liberal democracies cannot function. High profile reports, studies, recommendations and personal testimonials continue to make news.
Much has been said with respect to skill development, economic needs and personal development. Below is a summary:
There is universal agreement that liberal studies help individuals develop and refine skills that are absolutely essential in the new economy. These skills have been identified as "generic skills" in the literature and include:
Liberal studies education is in the best position for developing and refining these skills since liberal studies span the social and behavioural sciences, humanities and the arts. The breadth of liberal studies education is considered a strength. Certainly, the present Diploma MRT undergraduate
programs address many of the skills, but not in the depth or breadth that is required for the MRT graduate to contribute successfully in the healthcare system and society they will face.
CEOs, university presidents, college presidents, employers and academics alike are firm in their convictions that the noted skills are essential to the development of a sound person and continued prosperity of the Canadian economy.
In March 2000, a group of 16 Ontario university Chancellors issued an unprecedented statement calling on governments and the private sector to support Ontario universities especially in the social sciences and humanities. The statement read:
"The liberal arts and sciences must continue to be a seminal part of Ontario's higher education...A well- rounded, general education - learning to think, write and express one's ideas clearly - is as valuable to future employability as technical or technological training".
The statement was signed by 16 high profile Chancellors including John Clighorn, Chair, Royal Bank; Peter Gzowski, former host of CBC's Morningside; Peter Lougheed, former Premier of Alberta; Henry Jackman and Lincoln Alexander, former Ontario Lieutenant Governors; and Avie Bennett, President, McClelland Publishers. In fact, prior to the Chancellors' Report, a survey released by the Council of Ontario universities found social science and humanities graduates doing as well as their classmates who have job oriented degrees. Imagine the potential of going through an MRT job specific/liberal arts degree program!
Below are some anecdotes of some prominent individuals concerning the liberal arts aspects of one's education.
Having a liberal studies component to the MRTs undergraduate education does more than develop and refine skills. It is the cornerstone of the development of responsible citizens. Peter C. Emberly of Carleton University, believes that a liberal studies education is crucial to the personal, intellectual and spiritual development of human beings. He and Walter R Newell, also of Carleton University, see the objective of liberal education as "freeing students from the opinions and fashions of the day by exposing them to the deepest and broadest human possibilities, so that in detachment each individual can judge what is important". Students must be acquainted with the plethora of competing paradigms that claim to contribute to the understanding of the human condition.
A liberally educated student will be more productive and creative at work and more importantly, a better and decent human being that respects the rights and achievements of others. At its core, it is concerned with the prospect for the reconciliation of human beings with the world, one another, and with their own inner contradictions.
The history of using liberal studies education to produce responsible citizens dates back to Plato and his "Philosopher - King" and to his most famous student, Aristotle. Similarly, the belief that education is more than the accumulation of skills and knowledge, can be traced back to the enlightenment and more recent philosophers of some renown including John Dewy, Bertrand Russell and Wilhelm von Humboldt. Russell promoted the idea that education should be viewed as assisting a flower to grow and bloom. Russell always believed that education of a citizen took precedence over the education of an individual since educating a citizen also meant preparing some to live in a larger world. Humbolt held a similar belief, that education is a matter of laying a string along which a student will develop his/her own way. An examination of Canada's history of education shows that this philosophy formed the building blocks for those who first shaped education policy.
Canadian philosopher, John Ralston Saul, stated in 1995, "A student who graduates with mechanistic skills and none of the habits of thought, is not educated. Such people will have difficulty playing their role as citizens." Education in Canada, since the Royal Commission of 1910 on Industrial Training and Technical Education, was seen, and still is, as developing in people a view of the 'bigger picture' so that each generation would develop the inclination to look beyond simple 'self interest'. Saul believes public education is "The single most important element in the maintenance of a democratic system...the most difficult and the most valuable thing a society can produce is a well-educated populace. This is done by exposing as many students as possible to a liberal studies education".
The literature clearly points to the essential relationship between liberal studies education and the development and refinement of necessary skills that are critical to the future prosperity of Canada's economy. Healthcare is presently the number 1 factor regarding our economy. MRTs are at the forefront in the healthcare system because of the dependence on the competencies required to prescribe radiation and conduct radiation therapy treatments with very expensive and highly sophisticated equipment. MRTs must also work as a competent team member in a multidisciplinary healthcare environment whose scope of practice is and will be expanding. Further, the MRT, because of their place in the healthcare system, must be responsible citizens.
To ensure future success of our Profession, the education provided must have a broader breadth. In my view this means in the area of liberal studies at the university level. Skill development and assessment is an integral part of every course - essential for the future MRT. Required readings, group work, applied assignments, reports, presentations and research papers to name a few, are the vehicles used to develop the essential generic skills. The diverse nature of course offerings captures the interest and imagination of students, while exposing them to the trials and tribulations experienced by humanity. No other realm of education can claim to produce qualified workers for a constantly changing world and capable citizens who understand their democratic responsibilities. We all know how rapidly health care changes and medical radiation technology has been deemed as the most rapidly changing allied health profession.
An undergraduate Program incorporating the essentials of the radiation sciences combined with the liberal arts is essential for the advancement and the survival of our Profession. This can only be accomplished successfully through the Degree format.
Dr. R.C. Hesler, M.R.T.(R), RTR, DMgt, PFBA
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Doherty-Delorme, Denise and Shaker, Erika. Eds. Missing PiecesII: An Alternative Guide To Canadian Post-Secondary Education. Ottawa: Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives, 2001.
Emberley, Peter C. Zero Tolerance: Hot Button Politics In Canada's Universities. Toronto: Penguin Books, 1996.
ERIC. "Liberal Arts at the Community College," ERIC Fact Sheet. January 1981.
Emberley, Peter C. And Newell, Waller R. Bankrupt Education: The Decline of Liberal Education in Canada.Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994.
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Document last modified:
April 03, 2010
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