Becoming an academic: a trioethnography of radiographers transitioning from clinical practice to higher education

INTRODUCTION: Diagnostic radiography relies on clinicians transitioning into academia to sustain teaching, research, and professional formation. Despite this reliance, the transition from clinical practice to higher education is often complex and poorly supported. While role shock, identity disruption, and managerial pressures are well documented across health professions, little empirical work has examined how radiographers experience becoming academics. This study explores how diagnostic radiographers navigate this transition and how professional identity is reshaped during early academic careers. METHODS: A trioethnographic study among three diagnostic radiographers working as academics at Australian universities was employed. The researchers occupied different career stages. Data were generated through recorded reflective conversations conducted over eight weeks, supported by individual analytic memos. Transcripts and memos were analysed iteratively using inductive, dialogic analysis, with researchers acting as both participants and analysts. Reflexivity was embedded throughout to examine how shared and divergent experiences shaped meaning. RESULTS: Four interconnected themes were identified: releasing clinical identity and relearning professional worth; navigating the hidden curriculum of academia; pressure, performance, and the weight of academic metrics; and belonging through collegiality, mentoring, and shared values. Transitioning into academia involved loss of familiar clinical markers of competence, uncertainty around expectations, and reliance on performance metrics to signal legitimacy. Teaching provided continuity with clinical values, while mentoring and peer relationships supported confidence, identity, and belonging. CONCLUSION: Becoming an academic in diagnostic radiography involves more than acquiring new skills. It requires ongoing renegotiation of professional identity and value within performance-driven university systems. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Clearer induction processes, structured mentoring, and institutional recognition of the substantial teaching responsibilities within teaching-and-research roles may better support radiographers transitioning into academia and strengthen the sustainability of the diagnostic radiography academic workforce.