April 24, 2024
For a remote teleradiology practice like Connexia, technology and IT is at the heart of all that we do. In today’s team member spotlight, meet Valerie Schmitt — Connexia’s IT Product Owner for Emerging Technology and Teleradiology. Valerie takes us into a day in her life in this Q&A:
Q: Tell us about your professional background and what brought you to Connexia.
A: I started out as a nuclear medicine technologist - my education is in nuclear medicine technology, and then I got my Master’s in healthcare administration. Prior to Connexia, I worked in the teleradiology space as a clinical applications engineer.
My role at Connexia is really a perfect fit for me - it marries the worlds of clinical, IT and administration into one. I always thought I would have to choose between them!
Q: What does a typical day in your role look like?
A: My role as a product owner has two buckets within it: emerging technology and teleradiology. The latter, teleradiology, is all Connexia. In my day to day, I’m in contact with imaging centers, Air Traffic Controllers, and radiologists to ensure that all things are running smoothly from an operational and IT standpoint. My job is to ensure that processes are working as expected, and if any issues arise, to troubleshoot those hiccups to resolution.
When it comes to emerging technology, I’m working enterprise-wide to evaluate AI for various applications.
Q: From your perspective, what role does technology play in the Connexia model?
A: Technology plays a critical role in what Connexia does every day. With staff and radiologists working remotely, we need technology to communicate, and to provide patient care - we need it literally every second of the day to operate effectively.
Q: What excites you about Connexia and all it has to offer in the teleradiology space?
A: I love that Connexia is really focused on work-life balance. We took the importance of patient care and married it with the importance of employee care, from mental health to work life balance and beyond. By allowing radiologists to work flexibly, they can manage their personal and professional needs - and it's our successful use of technology that makes this possible.
Having our foundation in work-life balance fundamentally changes our landscape. If your employees are happy, you’re all the more likely to be successful as an organization. This sets us apart from other teleradiology companies.
Q: When you’re not at work, what lights your fire?
A: I have a growing family, with two young kids now - so when I’m not at work, I’m with my kids! We spend a lot of time together outdoors, connecting and exploring as a family.