From left to right: UVA Radiology team members Ralph Booker, Constance Tanner, Sheraine Baker and Tracy Fitzgerald
The Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging is one of the largest department at UVA Health, with over 600 employees, trainees and faculty. Within Radiology, there are countless teams making a difference every day for our patients, fellow team members and the greater medical community.
We’re highlighting four teams here at UVA Radiology that may not always be in the spotlight, but which play critical roles in caring for patients. In their own ways, team members in these four groups all work tirelessly to help as many patients as possible to access the highest quality medical care.
The teams we’re spotlighting are the Front Desk, Schedulers, Reading Room Coordinators and Image Management. We’ll learn a little bit about what each team does, then talk to one team member from each to learn more about their experiences here at UVA as well as their background and life journey.
FRONT DESK
The Front Desk team is the face of UVA Radiology and the first people that a patient sees when they come to our department. This team greets patients, checks them into the department and notifies each modality that the patient has arrived and is ready to be seen. They often have to coordinate multiple appointments for a patient in the same day, making sure that procedures will be finished and read in time for the patient’s next appointment. The front desk is a 24/7 operation, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.
Ralph Booker
Ralph Booker
Patient Access Associate
Tell us about what you do here at UVA Radiology.
My job here at UVA is a Patient Access Associate/Front Desk Receptionist/Registrar. I am the first person that all of our patients see when they enter the Radiology Department. I greet them with a warm welcome while making eye contact, saying something like “Good morning. How are you doing today?” Then I ask for their name and date of birth, and confirm if their medical information is the same or needs to be updated in our Epic. Then I print off all the necessary papers that our techs and nurses will need for the patient appointment and ask the patient to have a seat in the waiting room until someone comes out to take them back for their appointment.
What do you like most about your work?
What I like most about my work is that I can engage with each patient that walks into our department. I just love making everyone smile, laugh and feel comfortable about their appointment. You never know what an individual is going through before coming into our department – they might be ill, stressed out or just scared. So I try to make them feel good about everything and tell them they will be in very good hands while here with us.
What’s one thing about your job that might surprise people?
To be honest, you never know! Anything can happen, sometimes things we’ve never encountered before, but we do our best to be prepared for anything that occurs.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Charlottesville, VA, then moved to Fluvanna County and was raised there for most of my life.
Favorite thing about Charlottesville?
It’s a very historical area and is a good learning place for anyone that is visiting or living in the area.
Who is your inspiration/hero?
My inspiration/heroes are my mother (Robin Martin), my grandmother (Patricia Jones) and my father (Ralph Booker).
What’s your favorite thing about working in the Radiology Department?
My favorite thing about working here is that you can learn different things every day. It’s a great learning experience for people visiting the hospital themselves, or coming to see a family member or friend that is an inpatient, or even for those of us who work here every day!
SCHEDULING
Our Scheduling team schedules procedures and exams for different modalities and divisions. They register each patient, gather the correct insurance information and check for required authorizations or referrals.
Constance Tanner
Constance Tanner
Scheduler
Tell us about what you do here at UVA Radiology.
I’m an Access Associate – I schedule radiology procedures for Nuclear Medicine, Neuroradiology and CT.
What do you like most about your work?
I like interacting with patients and helping others. Some of the tests I schedule will determine whether a patient has cancer or another underlying issue. So my job comes with a certain level of compassion, understanding, patience and caring.
What’s one thing about your job that might surprise people?
The knowledge required to insure patient aren’t receiving bills they shouldn’t. We also need to know the procedures or scans that require authorizations or a certain level of referrals.
Where did you grow up?
Sacramento, California.
Favorite thing about Charlottesville?
You can and will make a friend everywhere you go. Charlottesville should be known for friendships!
Who is your inspiration/hero?
My mother. She was an activist, and a very strong and hard-working woman.
What’s your favorite thing about working in the Radiology Department?
The people. This is such a diverse place to work. I love it!
READING ROOM COORDINATORS
This team coordinates all activities within Radiology reading rooms. They keep the reading worklist straight to make sure studies get read, notifying doctors or divisions if studies go unread for 24 hours. They keep track of residents’ required scheduling breaks. They coordinate the 4-XRAY number, handling all calls and transferring them to the right reading room. Everything they do makes it easy for radiologists to focus on reading and interpreting images with minimal interruptions.
Tracy Fitzgerald
Tracy Fitzgerald
Reading Room Coordinator
Tell us about what you do here at UVA Radiology.
My current position is a Lead Radiology Image Management Specialist (or reading room coordinator). I currently run the Body CT/MRI, Chest and Fluoro Reading Rooms. I assist all the physicians with any needs they may have, including connecting them with other physicians. I prioritize studies that need to be read for each patient. I currently work the Tumor Boards that are held on Thursdays mornings (these are cancer patients that the physicians would like to review images for). I fix all studies that may have problems being dictated by the physicians, or studies that have not uploaded to a final read. I answer all calls regarding studies and monitor the calls and prioritize them on a daily basis.
What do you like most about your work?
The thing I like most about my position is assisting the physicians and working with them directly.
What’s one thing about your job that might surprise people?
I feel that most people would be surprised that when I first started in Radiology, I worked as a transcriptionist. I literally had a foot pedal that I would tap to listen to the physicians dictate. I could fast forward and rewind the dictations while typing their reports.
Where did you grow up?
Charlottesville.
Favorite thing about Charlottesville?
I really enjoy Carter Mountain Orchard. In the fall it’s a great place for families to pick apples and spend time together. It’s great in the spring, too, since they provide entertainment and have beautiful scenic views.
Who is your inspiration/hero?
My grandmother would be my inspiration and hero. Not matter what happens, good or bad, she has always found a way to make things better.
What’s your favorite thing about working in the Radiology Department?
My favorite thing would be the teamwork in Radiology. We all work together to make sure everyone is treated equally and fairly no matter the person or situation.
IMAGE MANAGEMENT
The Image Management team transfers patient images from other hospitals and imaging centers to UVA Health. They use and maintain AMBRA, which is a file transfer system that lets our team share images with any facility in the world. For facilities that can’t transfer images digitally, the Image Management team also creates and receives CDs of images.
Sheraine Baker
Sheraine Baker
Image Management
Tell us about what you do here at UVA Radiology.
My job is to make sure that radiologists can access outside images using PACS. We also create orders so radiologists can overread outside images. We electronically send images to other facilitates, and I assist patients at the image management window if they need a copy of images for scans they had done at UVA.
What do you like most about your work?
I love working with my coworkers!
What’s one thing about your job that might surprise people?
One thing that might surprise people about working in image management is that we actually don’t deal with all imaging. We only work with images coming from outside facilities.
Where did you grow up?
Charlottesville.
Favorite thing about Charlottesville?
My favorite thing about Charlottesville is the restaurants.
Who is your inspiration/hero?
My mother.
What’s your favorite thing about working in the Radiology Department?
My favorite thing about working for UVA, overall, is our benefits. My favorite thing about image management is that everyone works together. If someone if having a hard time with something, we’ll all come together and figure out the problem, and we are great with covering each other whenever someone needs coverage. I love working with my team because we can laugh and have fun together but we also get our work done. We have become more like a little family rather than just coworkers.
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