E229: Loryn Caulfield and Helen Gregory - Evidencing the Impact of Advanced and Consultant Practice
Trigger Warning: this episode discusses cancer and cancer treatment.
Episode 229: Part of the Education and Workforce Development series (Part 81)
Description: In this insightful episode, Naman Julka-Anderson and Jo McNamara sit down with Loryn Caulfield and Helen Gregory.
Loryn Caulfield qualified as a therapeutic radiographer in 1998 in Cape Town, South Africa. She moved to Oxford in 2001 and has worked at the Churchill Hospital in the Oxford Cancer Centre ever since. In 2015, Loryn became a Consultant Therapeutic Radiographer working exclusively with patients undergoing radiotherapy or brachytherapy for gynaecological cancer. She completed her MSc in Health Sciences in 2020 and gained College of Radiographers consultant practitioner accreditation in 2021. She is currently seconded one day a week to the NHS England South East Faculty for Advancing Practice as a Training Programme Lead for Cancer and Diagnostics.
Helen Gregory is a Consultant Radiographer at Peterborough City Hospital, specialising in palliative radiotherapy, and is also the Trust's MSCC lead. Since qualifying in 2000, she has gained experience across the radiotherapy pathway. Before her current role, she spent 11 years at the University of Hertfordshire as a senior lecturer and Clinical Lead on the undergraduate radiotherapy programme, and pathway lead for the postgraduate programme.
This episode is a deep dive into how advanced and consultant practice changes outcomes for patients, the power of continuity of care, why evidencing impact is now essential, the South East impact toolkit, succession planning and the importance of supervision and self-compassion.
CPD Reflection Points:
- Continuity of care: Loryn described how seeing the same patients over years of follow-up builds trust, so they open up about concerns they might never raise in a rushed clinic. Where in your pathway do patients see the same professional, and what could you do to strengthen continuity for the people you care for?
- Evidencing your impact: Loryn stressed that it is no longer enough to assume we make a difference, and Helen advised embedding data collection from day one, as her role helped cut palliative waits from three or four weeks to two. What evidence do you currently collect about the impact of your role, including patient feedback, and how could you share it with those who make workforce decisions?
- Supervision and self-compassion: Both guests urged new consultants to be kind to themselves, avoid comparing themselves with others, and keep accessing supervision long after qualifying. Who supports and supervises you in your current role, and what could you change to protect your own wellbeing and confidence?
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Links from the Episode:
- Impact Evaluation Toolkit – NHS England South East Faculty for Advancing Practice
- Regional Faculty for Advancing Practice – South East
- College of Radiographers advanced and consultant practitioner accreditation
Research links from the Episode:
- The relationship between patients' experiences of continuity of cancer care and health outcomes: a mixed methods study
- Interventions to improve continuity of care in the follow-up of patients with cancer: Cochrane systematic review
- Multi-professional consultant-level practice capability and impact framework
- Minimum standards for supervision
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Credits: Music and jingle credits: Dr. Ben Potts and Adam Cooke.
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