I interviewed Megan Lightner who is a Registered Vascular Technologist at the University of Utah Hospital
1. How did this type of work interest you and how did you get started?
I like a challenge. I like helping and working with people. I have always been interested in the medical field. It is rewarding. I was interested in the physics and principles relating to ultrasound, how it works and how you can help people through that process of scanning their bodies. It’s interesting to me that I can save someone’s life just by knowing how to work a machine and understand what a blood clot is and if it is harmful to an individual’s health.
2. How did you get your job? What jobs and experiences have led you to your present position?
I had to complete a 900-hour clinical outside of my school, or an externship, unpaid. While I was still in school, I attended a conference on vascular ultrasound. I was not planning on attending which I’m sure you understand, sometimes those conferences are just one more thing that you have to do at school and when they are optional it’s a hard decision to go. However I was glad I went because I met the head of the department I work in now. Steve was the main speaker and after the conference I introduced myself because he was from Utah and I had gone to school at BYU before I went to school in Spokane (which is where I got my education for Vascular Ultrasound) and I knew he worked for University of Utah and teased him about Cougar/ Ute rivalry. Long story short, through networking, I was able to receive my clinical hours from him and was hired by the company directly afterwards.
3. What are the various jobs in this field or organization?
You can work in a private lab or you can work as a program director. You can be a teacher to other vascular ultrasound technologists’ students. There are also positions for a private contractor who get a machine and open their own practice or you can do like I do and work in the hospital vascular lab.
4. Why did you decide to work for this company?
The University of Utah hospital is a really great company. First of all, they have excellent health benefits. The staff and technicians have a good relationship with the physicians and surgeons. The hospital is well established and organized. And the vascular lab is run well and the staff has been there a along time. Funny story, I also get to see the prophet (of the LDS church) sometimes, like I did the other day. That’s kind of a cool benefit to working in Salt Lake.
5. Do you find your job exciting or boring? Why?
It’s exciting because it is different everyday going to the operating room seeing in and out patients. I see different situations everyday. There is never a dull moment in the hospital. I can’t speak for a lab or for the places you could work in this field but in the hospital I see all kinds of patients and it’s has made me so aware of my health and how important it is.
6. What particular skills or talents are most essential to be effective in your job?
To name a few off the top of my head I would say; critical thinking, hard working, ability to work independently, have confidence and be motivated. It is also important to have good patient relations and be empathetic because the patient you are working on is generally in pain.
How did you learn these skills?
After the first week I quickly learned that although the technical part of the job is important, it’s also important to care about your patient. It’s important to understand their needs and feel for them in their current situation. I have seen other technicians come in and try to just use the technical skills they learned in school and end up really not liking this job because a huge part of it is patient care. And people in general who are in the medical field already care about others and that is why they were interested in doing this job in the first place. However, if it doesn’t come naturally to you, you learn pretty quickly that it is important to care about the patient.
7. How would you describe the working atmosphere and the people with whom you work?
It a laid back atmosphere at times but it can get stressful and when it does it is important to work as a team. That team environment helps everyone. It is supportive and everyone looks at the big picture to get the job done.
8. What are the salary ranges for various levels in this field? Is there a salary ceiling?
You can earn anywhere from $30/ hr to as much as $100,000/year. If you are on call you can earn time and a half for three hours even if you work for only 15 minutes plus an hour of travel time. Many new technicians have to establish themselves this way, The technicians who have been in this field for a while and have a steady salary or schedule usually do not prefer to be on call.
9. From your perspective, what are the problems you see working in this field?
It is hard on your body physically. There are many work related injuries from not using proper techniques such as carpal tunnel, back, shoulder injuries. The ultrasound machine that we use weighs 500 pounds and it needs to be moved and operated a certain way.
10. If you could do things all over again, would you choose the same path for yourself? Why? What would you change?
Yes, because it is a fulfilling career. I enjoy the patient interaction that I have on a daily basis. I am able to meet and help a lot of people through my skill. There is also room for growth because I can learn other modalities such as echo and general ultrasound. Because once you are registered in one you can cross train. So the growth opportunities make me feel that I am never stuck in just one career the rest of my life.
This was a really interesting interview for me. I have always wanted to be a dental hygienist but after interviewing Megan I found myself curious about this type of career and could see myself doing it. I like it because it is not as invasive as a registered nurse but you still get to work in a hospital environment, which interests me, and you get to work with people and help them with their health. I definitely think that I will keep Megan in my people of interest to network with. I can already tell through this interview that networking in this field Is crucial. She mentioned that she got her job because of her externship that she did with the company. I prepared for this interview by looking up what a Vascular technologist was and what they did, then my sister told me that she had a friend who worked at the University of Utah hospital that I could interview. I wanted to make sure I asked her appropriate questions for her job. I was able to interview her at the hospital cafeteria during her lunch break. I was nervous because I didn’t really know my way around a hospital but found it really interesting. She took me to the vascular technologists station where they wait for calls and research things they do not have answers to sometimes. It was interesting and I think if I don’t get into a dental hygiene program this could definitely be a field of study I would pursue.
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