Orientation and Induction: Diagnostic Radiography Students’ Experiences During Work-Integrated Learning Clinical Placement 

Abstract Background Work-integrated learning (WIL) placements are a core component of diagnostic radiography education in Australia, requiring students to transition across diverse clinical environments. These transitions involve adapting to new workflows, expectations, and workplace cultures. While international literature suggests that structured orientation and induction processes can support confidence, integration, and learning, limited research has examined how diagnostic radiography students experience orientation and induction during WIL. This study aimed to explore students lived experiences of orientation and induction process during clinical placements. Methods A qualitative exploratory study with a phenomenological orientation was conducted using purposive sampling. Twenty diagnostic radiography students from an Australian university participated in semi-structured interviews exploring their orientation and induction experiences during WIL placements. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to capture the relational, emotional, and structural meanings students attributed to orientation and induction. Results Orientation and induction was experienced as a relational, emotional, and structural process that shaped students’ confidence, belonging, and participation in clinical practice. Three themes were identified: (1) orientation and induction as a communicator of value, legitimacy, and organisational culture; (2) early orientation and induction as a mediator of preparedness and transition into practice; and (3) orientation and induction shaping early professional becoming: enabling confidence or reinforcing uncertainty. Structured orientation and induction processes were associated with increased confidence, preparedness, and earlier engagement, whereas minimal or inconsistent orientation and induction was described as disorienting, limiting access to learning opportunities, and reinforcing uncertainty. Conclusion Orientation and induction processes play an important role in supporting students’ transition into clinical environments. More consistent and structured orientation and induction processes, combined with ongoing relational support, may enhance student preparedness, promote equitable access to learning opportunities, and strengthen early professional identity formation across radiography placement sites.