Abstract
M.Tech. (Radiography)
This was a qualitative phenomenological study investigating the perceptions and experiences of radiographers regarding personal and professional development through entrepreneurship in Gauteng. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore and describe the reasons behind radiographers’ reluctance to establish their own private imaging practices with an aim to develop guidelines that will assist radiographers in making use of the opportunities for professional development through entrepreneurship in medical imaging.
The study was conducted using three data collection methods, namely focus group discussions, an in-depth interview and field notes. The participants included in the study were diverse in terms of gender, experience and nature of practice (private or public) as radiographers. This diversity of participants enabled a wider variety of views on the subject matter. An open coding process was used to analyse the data and an inductive reasoning process was employed from the early stages of coding the data.
Findings suggested that participants were optimistic about opportunities available for radiographers in private practice and were willing to use this opportunity for their professional development purposes, while others were not convinced that there was such an opportunity for them and thus did not have any aspirations to pursue private practice in medical imaging. Guidelines to assist radiographers who wish to open their private imaging practices were developed, recommendations for radiography practice, education and research were suggested.