Paper 2: Conceptualizing the transition from advanced to consultant practitioner: role clarity, self-perception, and adjustment

Background Interest in the influence of emotions on behaviour, decision making, and leadership has accelerated over the last decade. Despite this, the influence of emotions on career advancement and behaviour within radiography and radiotherapy has largely been ignored. The ease of transition from one work role to another within an individual's career may be influenced by previous experience, personal characteristics, organizational environment, culture, and the nature of the role itself. Consequently, the transition from the often well-defined role of advanced or specialist practitioner to the more fluid role of consultant practitioner is associated with changing emotions as reported in the first part of this two-part series. What remains unexplored are the emotional triggers that pre-empt each stage in the transition cycle and how our understanding of these might support the successful implementation of consultant practitioner roles. Objectives To explore the emotional triggers that pre-empted each stage in the transitional journey of trainee consultant radiographers as they moved from advanced to consultant practitioner within a locally devised consultant development program. Design Longitudinal qualitative enquiry. Methods and Settings Five trainee consultant radiographers were recruited to a locally devised consultant practice development program within a single UK hospital trust. Semistructured interviews were undertaken at 1, 6, and 12 months with the trainees. Results Although all trainee consultant radiographers experienced the emotional events described in the first part of this two-part series in a predictable order (ie, elation, denial, doubt, crisis, and recovery), the timing of the events was not consistent. Importantly, four emotional triggers were identified, and the dominance of these and the reaction of individuals to them determined the emotional well-being of the individual over time. Conclusions This study provides a unique and hitherto unexplored insight into the transition journey from advanced or specialist practitioner. Importantly, the findings suggest that commonly adopted supportive change interventions may, in fact, trigger the negative emotions they are intended to alleviate and disable rather than enable role transition.