Work Readiness Attributes: Comparative Views Of Clinical Supervisors And Final Year Sonography Students

Introduction Graduate sonographers possess the necessary knowledge and practical skills for employment, but personal characteristics and behavioural skills can also affect employability prospects. There is a lack of research regarding important characteristic traits of graduate sonographers. This research aims to determine what personal, interpersonal, and professional attributes clinical supervisors think are important and compare these answers to final year student sonographers.Methods An online questionnaire was designed and provided to clinical supervisors and final year sonography students from a single institution. Their anonymous responses were recorded, analysed, and compared.Results Reponses were obtained from 65 clinical supervisors and 39 final year students. There was a statistically significant difference in 10 of the 18 attributes, and these mainly trended from the personal characteristics and organisational acumen categories. Student results rated 'works as a team', 'technical knowledge', and 'communication with a range of people' to be of the highest importance whilst clinical supervisors felt 'communication with a range of people', 'seeks support', 'technical knowledge', and 'clinical reasoning' were vital for new graduates. Both groups agreed 'communication with a range of people' and 'seeks support' were important skills.Conclusion This research demonstrates both supervisors' and graduates' views of necessary work-related traits for new sonography graduates. Overall, both groups had similar views regarding social intelligence and work competence attributes but diverged when it came to personal and organisational acumen categories. Education could be incorporated into the sonography student curriculum to ensure future students are aware of characteristics that might enhance their job prospects and career performance.