Melissa Kuermaier

As a single mom, I wanted to find a career that would allow me to provide for my daughter and give her everything she needed. I chose to pursue a radiology technologist program, which was especially good for me because I was able to attend night classes (with tons of help from family and friends) to complete the training and education. Radiology is also great because of the many paths you can take, like working on computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, ultrasounds and more.

Today, I’m a registered CT technologist at Stormont Vail Health, and I’m registered to work on X-rays as well as CT scans. Both of those procedures use radiation to produce very detailed images of a patient’s body. The images help doctors figure out what’s wrong with a patient and how to move forward. In this position, I gather the patients’ histories, perform injections, assist the radiologists with biopsies and more.

There are so many things I love about this job! My absolute favorite thing is interacting with patients and getting to know them. Everyone is always nervous when they come in for exams, so making them feel comfortable is my main goal. This is also an exciting job because no two patients are ever the same. I get to learn something new every day.

If you’re interested in radiology or the medical field in general, I suggest taking biology, human anatomy and physiology, algebra and English. I didn’t take college courses in high school and really wish I had — if you have that opportunity, take advantage of it. To get hands-on experience, you can volunteer in the radiology department or other areas of a hospital, so check out what’s available near you.

Radiology is a fantastic career to pursue. Not only is it fun, but you feel good knowing your profession is helping others.