Kristy Muir
Interview Project: Part 1
Communication 1010-038
09/21/2011
Background Information
My Interviewee:
I am going to interview Megan Helgesen. She is an Ultrasound Technician for
IHC in Bountiful. She is my neighbor’s daughter, I have never met her but am excited to
talk to someone in ultrasound. I called her on the phone, explained my assignment and
asked her is she had time to meet with me. She agreed. I will meet with her at her
mother’s home, Megan just had a baby and it would be easier for her to have help while
our interview takes place.
Her mother told me that her journey to ultrasound was unique and I am excited to
see a different approach. I plan on asking mostly open questions, with a few direct ones.
I am a little familiar in Radiology and if I need to expand on an answer, I could ask
secondary questions. I will interview her Saturday the 10th at 5:00 pm.
Career Research:
I took Health Occupations back in high school and did an internship in Radiology.
I saw all areas in Radiology including: MRI, CT, nuclear medicine and ultrasound. I
really liked ultrasound and would like to one day specialize in it. This assignment
provided me a chance to further look into it.
Ultrasound is an area in Radiology that uses sound waves rather than radiation to
scan the body and make an image for medical purposes. I enjoy the medical field and
have always known that my career would be in it somewhere.
Ultrasound is a two-year program that Salt Lake Community College offers.
There are not any other programs locally. Most ultrasound technicians make $20-$26 an
hour. They make more than a Radiologic Technician, which I would still like to do.
Ultrasound would be my end goal. I am excited to get a more in depth perception to this
career choice.
The IHC mission statement is “Excellence in the provision of healthcare
services to communities in the Intermountain region.” I think this is great that they
want quality care and want the best for their patients. I have heard that a lot of people
enjoy working for IHC and will look there for a job one day.
Interview Schedule
Opening:
Hello Megan! I really appreciate you meeting with me. I am so excited to learn
more about ultrasound and how you got started in it.
As I said on the phone, this interview is an assignment that is part of my
communications class. I will be asking you how you got your start in the medical field
and your steps to ultrasound. I will also ask about your continuing education for your
license and your day-to-day schedule.
This should take around a half an hour and I will write down a few notes along
the way. So lets get started!
Body:
Topic 1: Getting Started in the Medical Field
1. How did you get started in the Medical Field? (Primary, Open)
--Are you satisfied with your choice? (Secondary, Open)
--Are there downsides to your career? (Secondary, Open)
2. How did you get your start in Ultrasound? (Primary, Open)
--Would you start the same way again? (Secondary, Open)
3. What education route did you take? (Primary, Open)
--What education degree did you earn? (Secondary, Closed)
--Was your training flexible? (Secondary, Open)
--How much was your education? (Secondary, Closed)
4. To be a successful tech, What skills are needed? (Primary, Open)
5. Have you make improvements as a Tech and what has helped you do so?
(Secondary, Closed—but could become Open)
Topic 2: Continuing Education
1. Is continuing education required? (Primary, Open)
--Which educational resources have you found most helpful? (Secondary, Open)
2. What resources keep you updated in Ultrasound? (Primary, Open)
3. What learning techniques do you use to help you? (Primary, Open)
Topic 3: Typical Day
Now that you have accomplished your education, I would like to ask you about your dayto-day activities.
1. What do you do first when you get to work? (Primary, Open)
--What is the most difficult task? (Secondary, Closed)
--What is your easiest chore? (Secondary, Closed)
2. What you would say is the best part of your job? (Primary, Open)
--What is the least? (Secondary, Open)
3. What are the most common tests you do on your patients? (Primary, Open)
--What is the hardest test to do? (Secondary, Closed)
4. What is your typical work schedule? (Primary, Open)
--Does your schedule work around Holidays or vacations? (Secondary, Closed)
5. If your son was sick, what could you do? (Primary, Open)
--Do you see your schedule as the same in 5 years? (Secondary, Bipolar)
6. Would you recommend your job to a single parent? (Primary, Bipolar)
Clearinghouse question: The interviewee’s turn
1. Is there anything else that would be good advice to getting started in Ultrasound?
(Primary, Open)
--Is there anything else I should be aware of? (Secondary, Bipolar)
Closing:
That is all the questions I have. Thanks again for taking the time to meet with me.
I have learned so much. I am more excited about ultrasound.
I am grateful to learn more about ultrasound and the route you took as another
option to consider. I didn’t know that much detail about the classes I need to take before
program.
As I mentioned on the phone, here is the evaluation form I need you to fill out so I
can get credit for this assignment. Here is a stamped, addressed envelope. If you have a
business card it would be great to include it. It would be great to receive this back in a
couple of days. Thanks again for your time, I have a lot to think about. Goodbye!
Kristy Muir
Interview Project: Part 2
Communication 1010-038
10/05/2011
Interview Analysis Memo
DATE: September 25, 2011
TO: Dave Gagon
FROM: Kristy Muir
SUBJECT: Interview Analysis Memo, COMM 1010-038
I had the chance to interview Megan Helgesen, who is the ultrasound technician for
Intermountain Health Care’s Bountiful Clinic. Her mother knows I am interested in
Radiology and said I should meet Megan to hear her journey to Ultrasound.
I would like to attend Salt Lake Community College’s Radiology Technician program.
One day I would also like to specialize in Ultrasound. Several of my neighbors know
that I have returned to school and when one of them found out my major she let me know
that her daughter is an Ultrasound Technician and could ask her questions if I ever
needed it. This communication class interview assignment was a perfect reason to meet
with her and get a lot of questions answered that I have had.
This memo summarizes the information I received and what I learned from interviewing
her.
Summary of Lessons Learned
Getting Started in the Medical Field
I learned that you do not have to be a Radiologic Technician to be eligible for the
Ultrasound program. The skills to be a successful technician is to be well organized and
most are type “A” personalities. Which means to be able to take charge, good
communication skills with patients, and be able to handle stressful situations. A good
educational program is SLCC and it prepares their students well for the exam.
Megan worked for IHC and applied through IHC to get into the SLCC program. Her
class size was 16 students with over 170 applicants. Her advice was to have your
Radiologic Practical Technician certification. I was excited to hear this because I got
mine 6 months ago. She said there is a group interview and the key was to look them in
the eye. She earned a certification in Ultrasound. The training is somewhat flexible
when you have your clinical and if you miss you just make it up. Class is held in the
mornings.
She invested around $18,000 for her whole program. That includes 6 semesters and her
books. IHC did have some tuition reimbursement that helps. She earns $20 an hour and
will jump to $26 an hour after her final license exam next month. It is a lot of money and
more importantly she enjoys it. I am even more motivated now.
Continuing Education
She does have to do 60 Continuing Education Credits that she will need to complete
every 5 years. The renewal fee is $900. There are seminars she likes to attend with other
workers that count toward her credits. She attended one in Las Vegas and after the
classes she had fun in the city with her husband. There are many options for her credits
and says it sounds like a lot but seems easy to achieve. She hasn’t yet had to renew, but
from others she has talked with doesn’t seem to worry.
Megan does believe she is a better technician since she has started. The main reason is
when another co-worker had a baby Megan had to cover a lot of extra shifts, be on call,
and work by herself. This made her have to do her best and figure things out. For about
2 months she did this and now is grateful for the experience.
A Typical Day
Megan starts her day by pulling charts and looking them over to get familiar with patients
and their tests they need. She checks the daily schedule. Usually her last appointment is
4:30. She gets organized and ready to start.
Megan works full time but only 4 days a week. She has Wednesdays off which she
enjoys because she gets a break in the middle of the week. As her son gets older she
would like to cut back to 2-3 days a week. As of now she has to be full time because of
her husband’s job. She is very grateful to able to have a good paying job. Since she
works in a clinic and not a hospital she gets all holidays off. If she needs to call in sick
she has a back up that can cover or they just cancel all patients.
The most common tests she performs is an ultrasound of the abdomen for gallstones in
the gallbladder. She doesn’t like to do male scrotums because it can be hard to find what
you need. This test takes a look for enlarged vessels and hernias and it is easy to miss. It
takes a lot of responsibility. She also talks to the Radiologist about every patient and so
good communication skills are needed.
Megan loves her job and is excited to finally have her schooling done. She loves the fact
that her day is not boring. Every patient is different with different bodies to find what the
doctors need. Sometimes it is emotional and hard not to think about her patients at home.
She gets reminded to be happy with her health because there is always someone sick or in
pain and that helps humble her.
She had to be patient for a few months after school to find her “ideal” job. Jobs are out
there but sometimes you have to wait for the one that suits your family life. She was
positive and showed excitement about her career.
Interview Analysis
This interview taught me a lot about Ultrasound and helped me improve my interviewing
skills.
Analysis of Ultrasound Technician as my Career Choice
From this interview, I am more focused on Ultrasound. I contacted an advisor at school
and found out timelines I need to be aware of. I need to take 2 more classes in spring and
apply. It is very competitive but after talking to Megan I feel I have a chance. I plan on
contacting her again closer to the time to apply for advice. It was extremely helpful to
talk with her and if I get into program next fall I can cut out a lot of years waiting. Her
information was very valuable.
I learned a lot more about day to day in a clinic atmosphere. I didn’t realize how much
contact the technicians have with the Radiologist. This is good to realize. It was fun to
hear about the different tests. I feel more confident with my desire to pursue Ultrasound.
It is a tough program but feel better after talking with her about it.
Analysis of my Interviewing Process
I can usually strike a conversation with anyone. I can ask questions and listen fairly well
especially if the subject manner is somewhat important to me. However, this was formal
and it was different because I was dressed nice so I was more nervous than a casual
conversation. I don’t enjoy writing and so taking notes scared me. I didn’t want to forget
anything she said.
Megan was so nice and was excited to talk about her career. This made it easier to ask
her questions. I think the conversation flowed well. I was more nervous at first but
towards the end I was more relaxed.
I wrote my questions out with space in between to be able to take notes. I felt very
organized. She stayed on topic well. I wrote down key phrases and that made it easy to
take notes and keep things moving on.
The interview went a little longer than planned. She didn’t seem to mind. I said thank
you again and talked to her about the evaluation form and gave it to her. Her mother
gave it back to me the next day. It was great not to have to worry about getting it back in
time to turn in. This was a life changing assignment for me and the information has
changed my goals for next year. Thank you for this assignment.