Tyler, Lead Technologist, Interventional Radiology

Tyler was born about a hundred yards from where he now works. After trying tile work and briefly considering anesthesiology, he found his way into X-ray at Providence Swedish. Cross-training into interventional radiology changed everything. Today, as lead technologist, he helps lead a team that doesn't just diagnose disease, they treat it.

Look at your opportunities in the X-ray department as a potential steppingstone into your IR department. Ask the people that work there, do you cross-train?

What is interventional radiology, and what drew you to it?

The easiest way I explain it: Have you heard of cath lab? That's putting stents in the heart using X-ray guidance. We do that everywhere but the heart. Diagnostic imaging is documenting disease. In IR, we see the problem, we take care of the problem. We're not going to see the problem, write a report and let somebody else take care of the problem. We're going to do it right now. That's the jazz of IR.

How did Providence’s cross-training program shape your career?

Like many of us in diagnostic imaging, I started in X-ray then I was presented an opportunity to cross-train into the IR department. We are one of the few facilities that still engages in cross-training. We have great support here.

What makes a great technologist?

The qualities that best suit a technologist are perseverance, good work ethic and humility. One thing I have learned in my time in the lab is there's always someone smarter than you right around the corner. You have to know what you know, and then know what you don't and ask questions. That's really difficult for some people, but it's a core quality.

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