I often get asked, "How did you get to where you are in Radiography?" It's a funny question to me because I have relatively little experience in the field compared to many of the technologists I have worked with and learned from. While I ride the wake of their pathways, I can fill you in on what brought me to this point in my career.
Growing up, I had a lot of broken bones. Whether it was from skateboarding, sports, or pure clumsiness, I found myself getting x-rays... a lot, not to mention my severe history of asthma as a child. When my dreams of becoming a Navy Pilot were squashed due to my "childhood history of asthma" (despite being able to run a marathon at age 18), I had to think of a "plan B" and chose Radiography.
The father of one of my closest friends in high school happened to be going to x-ray school during my last couple of years in high school. His son and I visited the hospital a couple times while he was working, and I got the "employee's view" of the Radiology department, which sparked my interest. Shortly after high school, he put the good word in for me to help me acquire a patient transporter position at the hospital. After really seeing what the field entailed, I decided after my first year of community college with no goals or ambitions, to pursue a slot in the Radiography Program at Cypress College in Orange County, California (representing). Ultimately, I have worked in three states as a radiologic technologist / instructor (California, Arizona, and North Carolina) and currently reside in the San Diego area.
I graduated in 2000, and since then I have held many positions, and always multiple coinciding ones. I have been the "ER tech", "OR tech", "fluoro tech", "outpatient tech", "portable tech" and "lead tech". I was able to cross train in CT, Cardiac Cath Lab / Interventional Radiology, and even conquered my fear of public speaking when I signed up to teach. I was encouraged by the Program Director at my first teaching job to pursue my BS in Radiologic Science, which I was able to complete in 2007. I continue to teach today, as well as take part of many advisory boards, participate in community service representing my healthcare organization, partake in memberships in our field, and I have even had the privilege of writing test questions for the ARRT Registry exam. I get a great sense of enjoyment from seeing my staff and students excel, learn new things, and progress toward their own career goals. Still, I believe the best is yet to come and I have much more to learn.
Growing up, I had a lot of broken bones. Whether it was from skateboarding, sports, or pure clumsiness, I found myself getting x-rays... a lot, not to mention my severe history of asthma as a child. When my dreams of becoming a Navy Pilot were squashed due to my "childhood history of asthma" (despite being able to run a marathon at age 18), I had to think of a "plan B" and chose Radiography.
The father of one of my closest friends in high school happened to be going to x-ray school during my last couple of years in high school. His son and I visited the hospital a couple times while he was working, and I got the "employee's view" of the Radiology department, which sparked my interest. Shortly after high school, he put the good word in for me to help me acquire a patient transporter position at the hospital. After really seeing what the field entailed, I decided after my first year of community college with no goals or ambitions, to pursue a slot in the Radiography Program at Cypress College in Orange County, California (representing). Ultimately, I have worked in three states as a radiologic technologist / instructor (California, Arizona, and North Carolina) and currently reside in the San Diego area.
I graduated in 2000, and since then I have held many positions, and always multiple coinciding ones. I have been the "ER tech", "OR tech", "fluoro tech", "outpatient tech", "portable tech" and "lead tech". I was able to cross train in CT, Cardiac Cath Lab / Interventional Radiology, and even conquered my fear of public speaking when I signed up to teach. I was encouraged by the Program Director at my first teaching job to pursue my BS in Radiologic Science, which I was able to complete in 2007. I continue to teach today, as well as take part of many advisory boards, participate in community service representing my healthcare organization, partake in memberships in our field, and I have even had the privilege of writing test questions for the ARRT Registry exam. I get a great sense of enjoyment from seeing my staff and students excel, learn new things, and progress toward their own career goals. Still, I believe the best is yet to come and I have much more to learn.
I was pleasantly surprised by the degree of care and attention to detail I received when I had my x-ray done at the clinic down the street.
ReplyDeletexray near me