Mapping Education and Career Frameworks

Mapping Education and Career Frameworks - what it means for the radiotherapy workforce
by Natasha Parkin, ACCEND Education Advisor and Therapeutic Radiographer

This blog shares how Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA) explored the relationship between the Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development (ACCEND) framework and the College of Radiographers’ Education and Career Framework (CoR ECF), and what this means for radiotherapy staff, managers and educators.

It outlines the mapping process, the key findings, and how this work is now supporting practical career development, continuous professional development (CPD) and ePortfolio conversations across the radiotherapy workforce.

Why this work matters

Supporting the radiotherapy workforce to navigate career development, CPD and education planning is important.  There are two education and career frameworks that align with most of the radiotherapy workforce but using more than one professional framework is a complex process.

This project aimed to make that process easier by showing how the two frameworks can be used in a practical way to support staff, managers and educators with role development, CPD and future career pathways.

“This work is important because it takes two complex frameworks and makes them meaningful for the radiotherapy workforce. By showing how ACCEND and the CoR Education and Career Framework align in practice, we can support clearer career conversations, more targeted education planning and better use of CPD, helping staff at every level to understand their development needs and the opportunities available to them,”  Lynn Atkinson Workforce and Education Senior Programme Manager, CMCA.

Background

The CMCA workforce team has been exploring how the ACCEND framework and the CoR ECF can be used to support the radiotherapy workforce in practice.

An initial pilot of ACCEND implementation took place with a cohort of radiotherapy support workers in late 2024. Findings from the pilot were insightful and highlighted some barriers to the immediate use of the ACCEND framework. Barriers included:

• Time constraints of working clinically alongside the time-consuming, manual self-assessment against the framework.
• How the ACCEND framework should be considered alongside the CoR ECF that some staff use already.

The pilot gave the workforce team valuable insight into how ACCEND might work in practice and helped shape the next steps. Two experienced therapeutic radiographers were seconded to the project to map ACCEND against the CoR ECF through a radiotherapy lens, creating an informed foundation for the next phase of implementation.

How did we ‘map’ the frameworks?

Mapping the ACCEND and ECF frameworks was a time-consuming, thorough process.

The process focused on looking at:

• Where the ACCEND and the ECF complemented each other
• Where terminology or expectations differed
• When each framework might be most useful during a therapeutic radiographer’s career
• Where and how radiotherapy‑specific skills could be mapped

There was a detailed, multi-stage approach to the mapping, searching each document with key words, comparing themes then cross-checking between reviewers.

What did the mapping show?

The mapping showed a strong alignment between the two frameworks, particularly around patient-centred care, education, and research. However, some radiotherapy-specific areas, such as treatment-related imaging, dosimetry and treatment planning, were not well represented in either framework.

ACCEND offers helpful detail for cancer-specific areas such as prehabilitation, mental health and behaviour change. It also helps therapeutic radiographers connect their patient-facing work with the core cancer capabilities in practice and reflect on everyday interactions in a meaningful way.

The ECF also has some real strengths. Although it has a noticeable diagnostic radiography focus in places, it is particularly supportive for practitioner-level therapeutic radiographers. It provides a strong grounding in areas such as radiation safety, legal requirements, patient care, learner support and team working.

What this means in practice

These findings provided practical clarity on how ACCEND and the CoR ECF can be used throughout a career. Sharing this understanding will help radiotherapy staff, managers and educators make framework use more meaningful, consistent and relevant to CPD and career development.

“ACCEND, along with the ECF, can support the development of a skilled and sustainable radiotherapy workforce, helping staff grow, progress, and deliver high-quality care for patients,” Danny Hutton, Network Manager, Northwest Radiotherapy Network.

Next steps – ACCEND implementation sessions

Facilitated education sessions have been provided for radiotherapy staff, which included:

• Introduction to both frameworks
• Supporting staff to access and use ACCEND via Greater Manchester’s ePortfolio, which has been funded by CMCA to provide access to a digital version of the framework
• Sharing guidance developed from the mapping project
• Exploration of how frameworks can support appraisal, career planning and educational needs
• Listening to staff stories - about their careers and educational aspirations.

The sessions were open to all radiotherapy roles, from students and support workers to advanced and consultant‑level radiographers. The aim of the sessions provided was to increase awareness of the frameworks and show the team how they might be used in practice. The ePortfolio demonstration landed especially well with attendees, talking through hypothetical reflections, education logging, Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) audit preparation and personal goals.

This education delivery step was used as an opportunity to further understand what works well, what gets in the way and what support might be needed in the future. The feedback from the radiotherapy team during the on-site sessions was valuable, adding to our own cycle of reflection and improvement.

For more information on ACCEND, the ePortfolio and how to use them in practice please contact: Deborah.Spearing@nhs.net Cancer Alliance Project Manager, CMCA