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November 2006
| Vol. 24, No. 11
SVU Member Profile
Steven J. Knight, BSc, RVT, RDCS
President
Specialists In Ultrasound, Inc.
Burlington, Vermont
What is your current title and employer?
President, CFO, Technical Director, Director of Personnel, Director
of Patient Services, and head laundry technician for Specialists
In Ultrasound, Inc., a private company that has two fixed locations
in the Burlington, Vermont, area that also provides outsourcing
of ultrasound staff to regional hospitals and clinics.
When did you start this position?
The company was created in 2002 and I opened my first lab in 2003.
What degrees and credentials do you have?
I have a BSc (Biology/Biomedical Sciences) degree from the University
of Guelph (Canada’s leading school for basic sciences) near
Toronto, as well as RVT and RDCS credentials from ARDMS.
Where and when did you get your vascular training?
I was initially trained on the job at MDS Laboratories in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada, and then completed my training at the Ottawa Civic
Hospital in Ottawa (University of Ottawa), Ontario under the tutelage
of Dr. Graeme Barber, MD, and Eileen Hamilton, RN RVT.
How long have you been in the vascular technology profession?
I have been in the vascular technology profession for 15 years.
What made you decide to enter vascular technology as a career?
I missed the meeting. Actually, my career has been the reverse
story of many in the field. I started off as a physiology research
technician and a lab TA at a medical school, and then went into
sales working for an independent distributor in the medical imaging
supply business. I sold everything from x-ray film to cath labs.
I proudly thought of myself as the enema bag king of the Ottawa
Valley. If you wanted EZPaque you needed Steve Knight. The company
I worked for was the Canadian distributor of Quantum Ultrasound
(remember the QAD-1?). Although I had a strong theoretical background
(anatomy, physiology, embryology, biophysics, pharmacology), my
lack of clinical knowledge made me feel like I was always on the
outside looking in while demonstrating the emerging technology of
Color Doppler ultrasound. One of my customers offered me a paid
job as a trainee and I jumped at the opportunity.
What and where was your first job in vascular technology?
My first job in vascular technology was at MDS Labs in a suburb
of Toronto (pronounced Turanna)
When did you join SVU?
Note to self . . . renew membership. I believe it was the first
thing I did when I learned I passed my ARDMS exams (back around
’92). Back then the exams were literally written and only
available once a year.
What do you like best about your current position?
Anybody who has read my posts on Flownet (SVU Note: the vascular
technology listserv started by Steve at the University of Vermont
and still run by him) has heard me say that time is our greatest
asset. I started my own company because I wanted freedom to spend
time as I saw fit. I love that I can go to every one of my children’s
activities. They are all involved in sports. Most of their games
start at 4 pm and getting there on time before was impossible. I
also don’t have to bribe co-workers to swap shifts so that
I can have Thanksgiving off.
Have you served on an SVU Committee, if so, which one(s) and when?
I served on the Awards Committee two years ago. I think I nominated
myself for Vascular Sonographer of the Century, but I didn’t
win. (SVU Note: Steve received an SVU Certificate of Achievement
in 2004 for his dedicated work in developing and maintaining the
Flownet listserv.)
Are you a member of an SVU Affiliated Chapter?
I am formerly a member of the Northern New England Vascular Society.
I drifted away from the hard core vascular technology crowd when
I cross-trained into general ultrasound.
If yes, what positions have you served at that chapter, if any,
and when?
I served on the legislative watch for a stint.
How do you think SVU and its Chapters can work better together
in the future?
If I knew that I would have nailed Vascular Sonographer of the
Century.
I’m reluctant to give feedback in this forum because it’s
very easy to sound critical when giving feedback and I support the
SVU. Feedback is 90% about the person giving it and 10% about the
thing you’re giving feedback about. Let me say that as an
organization, SVU should continually strive to enhance its role
as a resource to its respective Chapters with regard to regional
meetings. The Chapters are a bridge between an international body
and working members in the field. What’s good for individual
Chapters will, in the end, be good for the Society. By adding value
to membership, individuals will gain an incentive to join and renew
membership.
What do you feel are the biggest issues facing vascular technologists
today?
I don’t have statistics to back up my opinion, but I suspect
that what I’m about to discuss is a trend. As a profession,
the traditional role of vascular technology is going the way of
the dinosaur. As ultrasound has supplanted more of the indirect
physiological tests, the role of the technologist has evolved to
that of a sonographer. There are few of what I like to describe
as “clinical vascular physiologists” now.
With the cost containment issues of today’s health care industry,
exams are being done faster and faster. Furthermore, these exams
are performed with more frequency by general sonographers in radiology
departments. As competing medical specialties try to grab more and
more revenue streams we see vascular ultrasound being performed
in a widening array of settings including cardiology and nephrology.
I’ve worked in vascular, radiology and cardiology ultrasound
labs at academic centers. I still believe that the core knowledge
of vascular physiology, disease and treatment is strongest in those
trained in vascular labs run by vascular surgeons. I worry that
this knowledge base, if neglected and out-competed, will fail to
be self-sustaining and will have to be created de novo in order
to integrate these skills into training programs and opportunities
for future sonographers.
What tips would you give to today's ultrasound students about
their career in the vascular ultrasound profession?
- Be honest with yourself: know what you know and know what you
don’t know and don’t try to fake it. You don’t
benefit anybody by cutting corners or second-guessing results.
Bad data is worse than no data.
- Understand that your patient is not merely a life support system
for a bypass graft. Your patient as a person is the focus and
your role is to assist a team of providers to make that person’s
life better.
- Seek out opportunities to get cross-trained on the job. Adaptability
is necessary for survival. I believe Darwin made a strong case
for this on a larger scale.
How can SVU better serve its members in the future?
Provide or encourage ways of learning how to perform in non-vascular
roles in the field of ultrasound.
Any other comments you would like to add about your membership
in SVU?
There are many competing organizations appealing to sonographers
for membership dollars. I hope that the SVU can figure out what
incentive is required for sonographers to send a check to SVU so
that this body can continue all the strong work it does for those
of us in the field of vascular ultrasound.
If married, what is your wife’s name? Do you have any children?
If so, what are their names and ages? Any Pets?
I am divorced and have three children: Kaitlyn (19) is a sophomore
at the University of Ottawa taking foreign languages and international
studies and playing hockey whenever possible. Michael (17) is a
high school senior and captain of his varsity lacrosse team. He
also is the goalie for his varsity soccer team and assistant captain
of his varsity hockey team. His goal is to play lacrosse at university
and study science. Alexandra (13) is in the 8th grade. She is best
described as a cross between Rachael Ray and Cathy Rigby. I don’t
have any pets, but I share my house with my children’s cat.
What do you do for fun and relaxation when not working?
I like to travel. I play hockey. I watch my children grow. I am
restoring a 1951 MG. That should keep my busy for the next decade.
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