MRT Heroes

Recognizing the Heroes Among Us

The past few months have been times of uncertainty and challenge as we navigate and adapt to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, medical radiation technologists (MRTs) have continued to be essential in patient care. Please join us in recognizing some of the many MRTs who have gone above and beyond during this difficult time. Nominated by their peers, these MRTs have made an exceptional impact and gone that extra mile in making a difference in the lives of others and we all want to say thank you.

THANK YOU!
You are the heroes among us.

To all the MRTs who are working tirelessly on the front lines today and everyday, thank you.

Judy loves being an MRI technologist. As an MRI technologist, she uses magnetic resonance to obtain images critical to the diagnosis and management of countless conditions for millions of patients across Canada. An important part of her day-to-day is also preparing patients for their MRI exam, when she explains the procedure and helps to instill confidence in her patients.

Sean is radiological technologist at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ontario. His shifts typically rotate between Interventional Radiology and computed tomography (CT), with occasional work in general radiography. In Interventional Radiology, he is part of an interdisciplinary team and works collaboratively with registered nurses and radiologists to perform minimally invasive image-guided procedures such as biopsies, angiograms and line insertions. As technologists, they routinely scrub in with the physician to assist with procedures. Sean shared, “I feel very fortunate to work with such an excellent team on a daily basis. My colleagues at Southlake are extremely caring, dedicated and patient-centered and all deserve recognition for their tireless efforts throughout this pandemic!”

Janice has been a proud radiological technologist for 33 years. She is currently an X-ray and mammogram technologist at Ross Memorial Hospital, where she has worked for the last 18 years. Her day to day duties can include anything from screening mammograms, doing stereotactic biopsies (a type of biopsy that can help to diagnose cancerous cells in breast tissue), administering portable X-rays, teaching students, imaging patients with fractures, imaging patients in the operating room, assisting with gastric procedures, or pain injections. 

During the pandemic, minimal out patient imaging and mammograms were done and much of her day-to-day work was portable X-rays on isolated patients with suspected or positive Covid-19. She says, “We felt like we could not have been more front line than that! However, we do what we do because we love our profession.”

Erin’s typical day as a nuclear medicine technologist centers around the operation of their nuclear medicine SPECT/CT cameras and providing exceptional diagnostic imaging and patient care. A SPECT/CT scan is where the images from two different scans (nuclear medicine and CT) are combined together, offering more precise information about how parts of the body are working and more clearly identifying diseases and conditions. As a team leader, Erin works both on the floor scanning patients, as well as “behind the scenes” fulfilling administrative duties. Covid-19 has forced Erin to spend more time thinking outside the box, problem solving, easing patient and staff concerns, and brainstorming ways to best adapt to the ongoing changes.

Lee-Anne is an X-ray and computed tomography (CT) technologist. As a radiological technologist working in X-ray and CT, her days include teaching students, taking x-rays, performing operating room procedures, completing portable x-rays, starting IVs, scanning for CT procedures, and assisting with biopsies. When we reached out to Lee-Anne for a comment, she shared, “I am continually learning new and exciting things while working alongside an amazing team of MRTs and radiologists. I love my career and continue to be inspired daily.”

Sonya is the Nuclear Medicine Supervisor and Site Radiation Safety Officer at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. Nuclear medicine technologists administer small amounts of radiopharmaceuticals to patients to perform diagnostic imaging and some treatment procedures. They operate specialized camera systems to detect the radiopharmaceuticals in the body to evaluate the function of specific organs and body systems, assisting with the diagnosis and treatment of a range of conditions and diseases.

During the pandemic, Sonya’s day-to-day activities and responsibilities have changed significantly. She still has her usual patient workload and administrative duties, but she is now also managing frequent policy and procedure changes, attending information sessions, and staying informed of provincial recommendations and numbers, all the while supporting her team and being mindful of the extra challenges they may be facing at work as well as at home.

Learn more about the MRT profession

Learn more about what these amazing individuals do everyday and about the MRT profession.

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Colleen is the Senior CT Radiological Technologist at Ross Memorial Hospital. In 2001, she was selected by the hospital to start up the computed tomography (CT) department, which now sees hundreds of patients every week. CT imaging uses powerful computing to reconstruct x-ray images to produce both 2D cross-sectional images of the anatomy and 3D images, providing more detail and information than conventional x-ray imaging.

Karyn is the Charge Technologist for X-ray, Gastrics, and Bone Mineral Density for Credit Valley Hospital, Trillium Health Partners. She works in the many areas where x-rays are needed, including portable x-rays, the fracture clinic, the OR, Gastrics, the ER, and outpatients. As Charge Technologist, she supports and leads a team of radiological technologists and is also responsible for scheduling and payroll, among other supervisory duties.

As manager of Nuclear and Molecular Medicine at Eastern Health, Tammy is responsible for the operations of the Nuclear Medicine and PET/CT program. Leading a team of nuclear medicine technologists, her role is to develop and oversee policies and procedures for administering radioactive isotopes and therapies to help diagnosis and treat patients. 

Sonia is a cardiovascular radiological technologist that works in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab and in the operating room assisting with vascular surgery at the Hamilton General Hospital. She is also a general radiological technologist at Credit Valley Hospital.

Eva works in a hospital x-ray department as a general duty radiological technologist, in both general x-ray and fluoroscopy.  She plays an essential role in the diagnosis and treatment of numerous medical conditions by taking medical images (x-rays) and providing care and comfort to patients during their fluoroscopy procedures (ex. barium swallows, joint injections for pain management, and more).

Lauren works as a supervisor at an MRI clinic where she and other magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologists use magnetic resonance to obtain images critical to the diagnosis and management of countless conditions for millions of patients across Canada.