Sanjos

Sanjos has been a research radiographer for six years. He has worked on studies about various cancers, including prostate and breast. He works in a team with mostly research nurses but feels strongly about his professional identity as a radiographer.

Sanjos is a research radiographer. He enjoyed science from a young age and initially wanted to become a doctor; having a particular interest in cancer, he decided to pursue radiography. After training, he worked as a therapy radiographer in India for four years before moving to the UK and continuing in the profession for another 13 years. About six years ago, he moved into a research radiography post. He has worked on various clinical trials, including those about prostate and breast cancers. Sanjos found adapting to a research role quite straightforward. He received lots of training when he began his post, which gave him a good idea about how to work in research and how to communicate with patients. The training he undertook included on informed consent, communicating with patients on randomised control trials, and the principles of good clinical practice. However, one thing which surprised Sanjos when he began his role in research was having less contact with patients and this is something he misses.

In his research role, Sanjos screens patients and gives them information on the clinical trial. After consent is taken by himself or a colleague, he collects a patient’s medical information and samples. Whilst patients are undergoing treatment, Sanjos reviews them frequently to check if they are having any problems with toxicity, which is important as patients sometimes receive a different dose to that given in standard care. When patients have finished radiotherapy, Sanjos reviews them every few months to check again for toxicities. This monitoring continues on a long term basis, in order to assess the efficacy of treatment and rate of relapse. Sanjos has been involved with trials which have reduced the standard number of radiotherapy sessions patients receive, which has benefits for the patient and the NHS: I feel really proud of being taking part in research like that.

Although Sanjos works on several different trials, he manages his time by working within a supportive team which also includes nurses and clinicians. Working in a small team allows for good communication, which Sanjos feels is a central in research. Sanjos line manager is a research nurse, which can make it difficult to communicate about specific issues in radiography. However, Sanjos values the level of trust between him and his manager which makes for a good relationship. In the past, Sanjos participated in a radiography research community where research radiographers would meet and discuss work in their areas. This was important to him: I’ve been always called a clinical trials nurse‚ But I’m a radiographer so I’ve got my own professional identity. The research radiography networking group is no longer active, which Sanjos feels is a shame.

Sanjos thinks that maintaining clinical skills is very important when working in research and he tries to keep up to date with the new techniques that are developing. For example, he attends training sessions, conferences or seminars to learn about new technologies in his field. He feels that this updated knowledge is important in case he is involved in related trials in the future. Sanjos also likes to share this knowledge with colleagues in his department.

Although Sanjos is not currently involved in designing studies or writing up and publishing findings, he hopes this will change in the future. He is currently doing an MSc in genomics, which may bring more opportunity to work on the academic side of clinical trials. Balancing his job with studying is a challenge, but Sanjos uses his free time to do this. Sanjos was inspired to study genomics as he believes genomic sequencing will be the future of medicine, leading to personalised treatment and improved patient outcomes. He hopes it will also improve treatment for patients in radiotherapy, as doses can be adjusted depending on genetic profiles and likely side-effects. Sanjos sees his future in genomics, either in sequencing or bioinformatics: that will be my passion.

Sanjos would first see the patient with a consultant who would explain the study. There would then be a separate opportunity to discuss it with the patient.

Age at interview 38

Gender Male

Sanjos encouraged radiographers considering research jobs to maintain their clinical knowledge and skills although he felt this depended on the opportunities available at different hospitals.

Age at interview 38

Gender Male

Sanjos, a research radiographer, gave an overview of his research activities.

Age at interview 38

Gender Male