About the ABC

The role of Breast Clinician was first developed to aid the introduction of a National Breast Screening Programme in 1987. When this was first established it was found that clinicians trained in reading mammography were required and the very first Breast Clinicians aided the pilot screening programme in Guilford. From this time the role has now developed so that Breast Clinicians are now important members of the Multi- Disciplinary Team. Many doctors have started the pathway towards becoming a Breast Clinician by helping Surgeons in their symptomatic breast clinics and follow-up clinics.

In July of 1996 the Association of Breast Clinicians was founded with the aim to establish a new specialty as a recognised branch of diagnostic medicine bringing a multi disciplinary approach with multi disciplinary skills to the diagnosis of breast disease. The aim was to achieve this by acquiring knowledge and experience of all appropriate disciplines to establish, monitor and maintain standards in this multi skilled practice by the interchange of information training and technical expertise. Overall the association was to eventually establish a formalized specialty with accreditation in this field.

Much progress has been made towards these aims with the establishment of a Post Graduate Diploma in Breast Diagnosis which is now the Breast Evaluation course that can now be accessed by not only Breast Clinicians who have a medical degree but by Breast Care Nurses and Radiographers who wish to further and extend their roles.

Breast Clinicians who are fully trained will have expertise in both reading screening films to detect small impalpable cancers and symptomatic films for patients with new symptoms and follow up films in breast cancer. They also have skills in the assessment with ultrasound and biopsy techniques. Many have an interest in family history clinics and oncology clinics. A few Breast Clinicians will also have some skills which they are able to take to the surgical theatre. Most Breast Clinicians in the UK now are fully dedicated to breast disease and are invaluable members of the Multi Disciplinary Team and certainly many services would struggle without this specialised clinician.

This role of Breast Clinician will hopefully be taken further in the next few years with the establishment of a specialty in breast disease which can encompass both the training of doctors in this field and aid the training of Nurses and Radiographers towards advanced practitioner status in line with the modernization of the NHS.