Early engagement: The value of MRIT student externs in supporting recruitment, retention, and the future of the medical imaging professions.

The healthcare system faces critical challenges in recruitment and retention due to increased patient volumes, post-pandemic recovery needs, and a departing experienced workforce. The concept of an 'extern' role, increasingly explored in professions such as nursing, allows healthcare students to take on paid employment in assistive roles in settings relevant to their future profession. The cornerstone of such an initiative is to bridge academic learning with practical clinical support, engaging the future of the workforce in a safe and meaningful way. An extern program was piloted at a major urban multi-site medical imaging department beginning in 2022. Over three cohort years, it has explored two types of extern roles (junior and clinical) across three entry-to-practice MRIT disciplines - radiological technology, nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, and ultrasound. In developing roles, compliance with legislative regulations, considerations in defining roles and eligibility criteria, and aligning work commitment with student learning schedules were paramount in informing the program's structure and success. Seventy-three candidates applied to related roles and 34 externs were hired. Benefits to the program include engagement in clinical and administrative tasks, facilitation of departmental efficiency, and support for the existing workforce. Specific tasks for clinical externs included supporting staff in patient transfers and positioning, cleaning and restocking rooms, triaging patients and demands, calling inpatients and coordinating porters, and monitoring patients and schedules. For junior externs, tasks involved record-keeping, curating teaching cases, and supporting billing code reviews and quality control exercises like lead apron testing. The program's value in shaping the future of healthcare professions has been recognized, particularly in enhancing student transition into practice and increasing recruitment opportunities for the host site. Staff overtime hours were reduced, and new graduates who had worked as externs were more quickly able to work autonomously following hire. The program was mutually beneficial to existing staff and future professionals, reinforcing the workforce without sacrificing the higher level learning achieved through university-based preparation for practice.

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