This summer, Barada welcomed Mackenzie Herbert to our staff, temporarily, as a Verifications Specialist. In that capacity, Mackenzie was charged with calling schools and companies, confirming that the job candidates of businesses for whom we perform screening had been truthful and accurate on their applications and resumes. Mackenzie was a cheerful presence and a welcome addition to the Barada “family,” even though it was only for a short time.
This fall, Mackenzie returned to Indiana University—Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to pursue her Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Medicine Technology. Recently, we touched base with Mackenzie, who is in her junior year at IUPUI, to learn a little bit about her field of study and what she will be doing.
“It’s a specialized branch of x-ray technology,” Mackenzie told us. “I discovered it when I was a patient, getting a scan with a nuclear medicine technologist. It looked interesting, so I explored all the work in radiology, and this was the option that really appealed to me.”
Nuclear medicine works in the opposite way from a traditional x-ray or CT scan. Instead of radiation coming out of the system and then passing through the patient’s body before being detected and recorded, a radioactive material is introduced into the patient, whose body then emits gamma rays. The rays are detected and recorded by a “gamma camera.”
Mackenzie’s first clinical work was in the small hospital in Rushville, where she worked for the only technologist. Now, she is in downtown Indianapolis, performing clinical work at a large hospital. She told us she loves the fast paced, busy environment and hopes to work in a large hospital after she graduates. “At the hospital in Indy, I get to meet a lot of new people and have a lot to do,” Mackenzie says. “I am looking forward to getting into the field, maybe working in Indy, as soon as I obtain my degree.”