A 360-degree evaluation of the professionalism and communication skills of technologists working in the radiology department of a public sector tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan

Background: Radiologic technologists (RTs) are at the forefront of radiology departments and require optimal skills to demonstrate professionalism and effective provider-patient communication. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine the reliability of 360-degree evaluation as a feedback tool to improve competencies in this crucial workforce.

Methods: A planned 360-degree evaluation was conducted using a 10-item tool to evaluate communication skills and professionalism among radiological technologists working at Dow University Hospital, Karachi. In total, 311 evaluations of fifteen radiological technologists were conducted while performing various diagnostic radiology procedures at the radiology department of Dow University Hospital. The data were analysed using SPSS version 26 to compute the evaluation scores and the reliability of 360-degree evaluation.

Results: A total of 311 RT-patient interactions were recorded over 48 days, with scores from all three raters. The evaluation tool was found to have good internal consistency for patients, faculty, and RT, with Cronbach's alpha values of 0.89, 087, and 0.74, respectively. The study found an intraclass correlation of 0.66 (95% CI; 0.58-0.72), showing moderate reliability of the 360-degree evaluation across different raters.

Conclusion: We conclude that 360-degree evaluation is a valid and reliable tool for determining the professionalism and communication skills of radiologic technologists and should be incorporated into training programs for formative and summative assessments. However, large-scale multicenter studies are crucial for generalizing these findings and incorporating 360 evaluations in radiological technologist training programs for formative and summative assessments.