#20 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗱 ‘𝗪𝗵𝘆’ 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺? 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲

I remember a conversation with a service manager some time ago.
She was frustrated.

“The newly qualified radiographers know nothing" she sighed.
"They question everything!
‘𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺?’
‘𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴?’
My older staff just get on with it!
It feels like we have to explain everything.”

As an experienced educator I nodded.
I’d heard it before.
Many of us have.
It’s a familiar tension.

A few days later, I was working with a final year student alongside a radiographer. As we prepared for a complex examination, I reminded the student to double-check key information, exposure values and expected projections. The student paused, looked at me, and asked, “𝘄𝗵𝘆?”

At that moment you could feel the athmosphere in the room shift.
The junior radiographer was silent, holding their breath to see how I would respond to this apparent 'insolence'.
And for a moment, I almost replied with: "𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘰!".

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽.
The students' tone wasn’t dismissive.
Her question wasn’t rebellious.
She was genuinely curious.
And that moment reframed everything.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆.
𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, asking for the story behind my request - the patient outcome, the missed artifact, the near miss that shaped my approach.

The “why” wasn’t a threat.
It was an invitation to build trust, share knowledge, and invest in her understanding to become a safer, wiser, and more independent practitioner on qualification.

Simon Sinek teaches that people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. It’s the same Radiography.

When we explain “why”, and not just "what", we start investing in others. We pass on clinical wisdom that no policy document can teach. We build safer practices, stronger critical thinking, and deeper trust.

In a multigenerational workforce, this matters more than ever.
Gen Z and younger Millennials aren’t content with “𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘰.”
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

So the next time a junior colleague or student asks you “why,” take a moment to pause, because what they’re really saying is:

“𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗺𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱?”

That’s not defiance.
That’s dedication.