[Sponsored] A Registered Nurse in a Technologist’s World

Sponsored by Banner Health

By Mary Scheid

When I came out of nursing school, I never thought I would work in medical imaging with technologists. I was dubious about how my role partnered with theirs, but I was also intrigued. How would – and could – this work? I quickly realized that putting myself in this environment was the best decision I could’ve ever made in my career.

I’m proud to share that I’ve worked for Banner for more than 27 years as a registered nurse, 16 of which were explicitly in radiology. I’ve learned a lot throughout my journey and realized that pivots in your career are opportunities to learn and experience more.

My “pivot moment” came when I realized I wanted to get off the floor and get away from working nights and weekends. I looked at some open positions and found a breast care nursing position in mammography. The job was all-day shifts, no nights or weekends and working with breast cancer patients, and it was just up my alley as the job was still in oncology and was coupled with my passion for nursing.

After I was awarded the job, I was told that I was the first nurse in Northern Colorado to have this role – working alongside technologists. They were a bit like me in the sense that we were all a bit dubious as to how my role would “work” with theirs.

The technologists quickly realized that my role was helpful and could help them be more efficient in theirs. They were extremely kind and helped me learn and grow as a nurse. They also furthered my understanding of mammography, ultrasound and MRI. I stayed in that role, working with these talented technologists, for 11 years working, side by side. The entire experience lent itself to my next steps.

I was asked to transition my role solely into mammography – an area I wasn’t experienced in and didn’t understand the detailed work involved. As always, though, there was a learning curve, process, and Banner allowed me to learn and grow with the team. And, so I did.

My journey didn’t end there. Next, X-ray services were added to our team. I’d helped them with IVs and Foley catheters in the past but knew very little about X-ray or fluoroscopy. They helped me learn what was needed to manage the department and how to grow it in a way that benefitted the patient in the best possible way and our team.

Now, I’ve had the great opportunity to be a part of Banner Imaging and work with mammography, ultrasound, CT, MRI, PET and X-ray, our front desk staff, film files, nursing staff and other office managers. There’s no way that a nurse could know all of what a technologist knows or does, but technologists are a kind and caring group. They allow me to ask questions and learn more about their art. They have worked with me to help manage their teams. I’ve learned and grown so much in the field of radiology, and it’s been a fantastic journey that I continue to learn from daily. It’s been a blessing to have great teachers (technologists) to guide me and lean on for support. So, being a registered nurse in a technologist’s world is possible, especially with the amazing team I have had the opportunity to work with.

Mary Scheid, RN, MSN, OCN, CBCN, is a senior manager for Banner Imaging Services Colorado.