By Matt Skoufalos
When Keith Hall joined the U.S. Army in 1999, he was a 19-year-old searching for opportunities that could help him find a stable career. What began as a six-year enlistment turned into a 21-year active-duty stint, in which Hall developed training in medical equipment repair, and then supported it with additional learning in imaging-specific skills. He was among the first participants in a training program with Philips that sent him to Cleveland for a year to become a subject matter expert in its CT equipment, and then into the Army global CT program for another five years before rounding out his career with another five years of leadership assignments.
Even with that lengthy background of classroom and field training and expertise, after Hall began his civilian career with Renovo at the University of Utah, he nonetheless needed to make adjustments upon being promoted to the company’s director of service for imaging for the western United States. Leadership skills are transferable, especially for someone with the ability to learn on the job, but there are always refinements to be made.
“There were things that I didn’t know or expect, but I feel like if you grow up and pay attention to your surroundings as you’re growing, you’ll have clues as to what your boss is doing,” Hall said. “I had a pretty easy transition because I had been preparing for growth and change for years. That may be the case for a lot of people looking to make the transition from biomed to imaging service leader.”
For professionals who come into the medical equipment repair field as a biomedical engineer, there’s no guarantee that their responsibilities will include medical imaging devices. Of the hundreds and thousands of technologies that are used to keep a healthcare system operating at peak efficiency, medical imaging devices are in a class unto themselves. They’re expensive to maintain and repair, and require a great deal of precision to function appropriately. Occasionally, the people who will be tasked with their oversight, or who assume those responsibilities as they climb organizational ranks, may not have the same familiarity with imaging equipment that technicians dedicated to their service do.
In circumstances such as those, healthcare technology managers can feel out of sorts, particularly for professionals who are used to having a strong command of their field. But with appropriate support and a plan for expanding their knowledge base, the transition can be managed effectively.
“I think the scope of the work is probably the biggest differentiator between being a biomed and being a leader who came from biomed,” Hall said. “You’ve got to be able to understand overarching hospital business models from the C-suite perspective. Usually, they see biomed as something that costs them money; you need to be the ambassador that reinforces the idea that biomed is a revenue sustainer.”
Hall said he’s found success by developing the ability to split his focus among day-to-day, operational activities as well as long-term, strategic goals – not only those for the company, but those for staff and himself as an individual. Critically, the ability to verbalize those responsibilities and the processes that comprise the path to those goals involves developing strong written and verbal communication skills, as well as the ability to scale conversations up or down depending upon the audience.
“Most things that we do in our day to day jobs, regardless of what industry we work in, follow a process of some sort,” Hall said. “When I’m looking at fixing something, because something’s not going right, or I’m not getting the desired outcome, there is either a problem with the process, or there’s a problem with training or understanding. It’s the process, or it’s training, or it’s people.”
“When you understand that almost every problem can be broken down to the process, training, or the person, you can solve things so quickly,” he said.
Where biomeds may be generalists, imaging service engineers often are specifically focused on one or a limited handful of imaging modalities. They require a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the people they serve as well as of the equipment they service, its lifespan and the ability to maintain a current understanding of how to manage both.
Because the role of an imaging service manager is typically tailored to the specific requirements of the position in the context of the facility in which it’s housed, its focus can shift significantly depending on whether the manager is working in a single hospital, or supporting a broader regional, national or global team. That makes flexibility and mental agility critical skills in these contexts.
“Regardless of the environment, certain attributes remain consistent,” Hall said, “an understanding of inventory management and customer needs, the ability to evaluate resources, and developing effective service delivery models. Managers must also grasp the financial implications of downtime, as a non-functioning machine can lead to revenue loss for healthcare facilities. A successful imaging service manager communicates these insights to radiology directors and C-suite executives with urgency.”
Sometimes the skills that a strong imaging service leader needs aren’t always to be found within the organization itself. Hall recommends joining professional organizations, such as the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), following along with research provided by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), and seeking training from outside workshops and professional conferences. The Imaging Conference and Expo is set for February 22-24 in Orlando, Florida (AttendICE.com). Also, ICE Magazine offers webinars (ICEwebinars.live).
“Leadership needs to take a role in mentoring, and it doesn’t have to be within the organization,” he said. “I’ve mentored people who aren’t in Renovo; I’ve always fostered growth and development. The investment is in the people and their skill sets, and in our community.”
Eric Massey, regional director of operations field service in the healthcare technology solutions business at Crothall, spoke about the value of key mentors in helping to coach anyone moving into a management role. Massey, who worked as a biomed until 2010, said that when he was promoted into management, he was guided through his new role by leaders who took an interest in him and helped him network.
Among the benefits of working for a national service provider like Crothall, he said, is having access to a large support system of professionals who’ve often worked in various environments before joining the company. Their experience especially can be meaningful in helping younger and rising professionals work through the early days of a new job change.
“I had some really good mentors,” Massey said. “I would meet with them, and they would introduce me to people. Conferences are huge.”
Equally meaningful to developing the skill set of an imaging manager is the technical training required to do the job. Managers who oversee medical imaging and biomedical engineering staff may have different backgrounds, and Massey believes that the best way to make sure that someone with biomed experience understands an imaging oversight role is to get training in imaging devices.
“Going to an RSTI training or a Tri-Imaging training goes a long way to understanding the systems,” he said. “That’s what I did. It prepares you to communicate and understand those systems effectively.”
Although not every workplace is structured the same, Massey also thinks that specialization in job focus at the technical level should be mirrored by specialization at the management level above it.
“I think an imaging manager needs to be separate from the biomed manager because they’re two distinct areas,” Massey said. “Having people specific to imaging and understanding those modalities goes a long way to making sure that program runs efficiently. We need to train more imaging managers.”
When considering which employees to invite into management roles, Massey said he starts feeling out his best imaging engineers to plumb the depths of their knowledge, see how they communicate, and assess their technical background. Then, he considers which of those areas are strengths and which could use more polish, and connects them with opportunities to learn.
“I look for strong communication skills,” Massey said. “That’s one of your biggest challenges as an imaging manager: effectively communicating with the radiology director, being able to talk the customer through the repair, walking the customer through the repair process, and reassuring them that we’re adhering to OEM procedures.”
“Everybody’s hot when these systems go down,” he said. “Does the customer trust and connect with the engineer? That’s when I know they’re ready to go out independently. If I see someone managing a program or a high-end imaging tech that radiology directors like, that’s what I look for.”
Shelby McCarty, imaging director of service for Midwest region for Renovo, agrees that the people who are best suited for management roles demonstrate strength in their ability to communicate with those around them, as well as serving their needs and leading people. Unlike other areas of leadership, where technical skills might be considered secondary facets of the job, McCarty said he believes they’re instrumental to having success as an imaging service manager. He differentiates between the management of things, “like a checkbook or inventory,” and the leadership of people.
“Leadership qualities are so much more important than management qualities,” McCarty said. “You must be able to build relationships and a network, or you won’t be successful. When I need help at a certain site, I call a local OEM service manager, and I get help only because we’ve developed a relationship. These relationships are usually built by trust through serving.”
“As James C. Hunter says in The Servant, ‘Perhaps we lead best by serving,’ McCarty said. “It’s the same thing you need as a field service engineer with your customer base: you develop the network and the relationship by serving, and that makes everything so much easier.”
In addition to building relationships, McCarty said strong leaders are able to check their own assumptions. The tactic of leading from the front doesn’t work without being able to balance the ability to follow input from others alongside your own instincts.
“In the industry, as you progress, there’s a fine line between ego and confidence,” he said. “Where the line gets drawn is where you’re self-aware enough to say that you’re not as good at something, and then go after those things. When I wanted to learn cath labs, I shadowed the main cath lab staff as a biomed. It’s that lifelong learning mentality and trying to get better at the things you’re passionate about that make you successful.”
Developing honesty and self-reflection about areas of personal strengths and weaknesses opens the door for a good leader to learn from those around them, McCarty said, and that’s a necessity when leadership roles carry responsibilities far different from those a biomed/imaging engineer may previously have mastered.
“Letting go of the technical side of things is something that is often hard for former imaging service engineers to let go of,” McCarty said, “but being truthful about yourself is key to growing. I consistently ask someone to show me how to do things more efficiently, how to better understand a financial statement better, or something as simple as tips for Microsoft Excel reports. You can learn something from everyone you meet.”
The process of evolving as a professional, adding new skills, and shoring up weaknesses helps imaging service managers not only to develop their own abilities but also to drive changes that make the work environment for the teams better that they oversee. This is particularly important, McCarty noted, as the field of healthcare technology management (HTM) sheds long-time professionals faster than it can necessarily replenish its workforce.
“To address this challenge, the HTM industry must become more innovative and proactive in developing effective training programs and recruitment strategies to engage the next generation of professionals,” he said. “It is crucial to cultivate a skilled workforce that can meet the growing demands and staffing needs expected in the near future, ensuring that we maintain a high standard of care within healthcare settings.”
