December 2006 | Vol. 24, No. 12

SVU Member Profile

Cynthia Hernandez, MBA, BSN, RN, RVT, RDCS
Nurse Manager, Noninvasive Vascular Laboratory
Ben Taub Hospital, Houston, Texas

When did you start your current position?

I started at Ben Taub Hospital in September 2000.

What degrees and credentials do you have?

I received my BSN in 1981, my RN in 1982, my RVT in 1992, my RDCS in 1996, and an MBA in 2006.

Where and when did you get your vascular training?

I was a cardiovascular intensive care recovery nurse at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX, from 1981 to 1984, when I interviewed for the vascular lab opening. I remember reading the position requirements and the most remembered part was the M-F day shift. I thought, I don't know what they do, but if it is M-F days, I can do it. Little did I understand the "fine print" about call! I was told the reason I was offered the job was because I was the only nurse who asked to look at the equipment during the interview.

How long have you been in the vascular technology profession?

I have been in the vascular technology profession since 1985, with it split between clinical and management work.

What made you decide to enter the vascular technology as a career?

I don't know if originally I understood I was going into a different career than nursing, but as time has passed I have thoroughly enjoyed the autonomy of this position. I have had the opportunity to work with brilliant surgeons and sonographers who have been pioneers in the field. Since I entered the profession in its infancy or maybe toddler age, it has been fascinating to learn and experiment with my colleagues in pushing the envelope of what we could do. I can remember getting a new book or some document at a seminar and having it in my lap while scanning a patient in the dark trying to duplicate a new technique for scanning. I remember starting to scan veins instead of performing plethysmography outflows and then looking for vertebral. It was very exciting to be contributing to the knowledge base of sonographers all over the country.

What and where was your first job in vascular technology?

My first vascular technology job was at The Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, with Dr. George P Noon and Dr. Charles McCollum as medical directors, and Maria Henderson as technical director and Megan Hodge as staff sonographer.

When did you join SVU?

I joined SVU, then SVT, around 1985. Maria and Megan were staunch supporters of the Society and it was just an expectation in the lab that everyone would belong.

What do you like best about your current position?

Making decisions and helping with the most difficult cases. My drive is to be the best. So having the management position allows you to lead the leaders and excel in your work.

Have you served on an SVU Committee?

Not yet. I have served on the ICAVL team as a site visitor for the accreditation process.

Are you a member of an SVU affiliated chapter?

I have been very active in the Houston Society of Noninvasive Vascular Technology (HSNIVT) chapter. Back in the early 1980's I was VP, then in the 1990's I was editor of the newsletter, education director in 2003, and president in 2004.

How do you think the SVU and its chapters can work better together in the future?

Well I am a southern and we say honey can go a long way. I would recommend hosting a small get together at the national meeting for SVU Board members and committee chairs with the presidents (or their representative) of the local chapters. Putting names and faces together goes a long way in developing trust and commitment. Have one of the Board directors or committee chairs visit local chapters when they are having educational meetings, if financially possible.

Also praising labs in the newsletter when they achieve ICAVL accreditation. It builds integrity into the entire vascular ultrasound family.

Build a viable mentorship program. Let members sign up for areas they would like help on and provide guidance and let SVU members volunteer to mentor in areas they are competent in. A mentor could also be a "mentee" because not all of us have full scope of experience in every area. Acknowledge the mentors at the national SVU annual conference with verbal recognition and have a "mentee" give a "testimony" of how the relationship helped them. Maybe host a tea and cookie social for them there.

Send the chapter president a request for updates about events and special honors involving the local chapter. (This was presently being done when I was chapter president). The local members got a big kick out of seeing their chapter featured by the national organization.

What do you feel are the biggest issues facing vascular technologist today?

Sonographers need to very careful to stay healthy. They need to speak up if their equipment is not functional or not ergonomically situated properly. They need to pace themselves for cases. I see young sonographers who injure themselves early in their careers because they don't take the time to situate themselves and the patient.

Reimbursement is another dark issue which we need to make EVERY effort to provide high quality reproducible testing by credentialed sonographers. No one wants a doctor, lawyer or nurse who cannot pass their entry exams to be providing care for them, and the public should not expect anything less from us.

What tips would you give today's ultrasound student about their career in vascular ultrasound?

First scan, scan, scan and make most of your mistakes while you are with someone who can help you. I find students standing back and thinking the skill will pass to them with passive observation. It doesn't happen they way! So get your hand on the probe as much as possible while you can be guided.

When choosing a place to work, ask how important decisions about number of cases and purchase of equipment are made. Do the sonographers have any input? How often do they have staff meeting? Is there an educational budget? Spend the kind of time looking for the right job as you would look for the right house. Believe me, most of us spend as much time at our jobs as we do in our homes so make sure you like yours. If you don't fit it is hard to make another first good impression without taking baggage with you. Interview the staff and ask them how they resolve conflict or how vacation time is decided. Many of the students only think about the first paycheck, but respect and consideration last a life time.

How can SVU better serve its members in the future?

Really, really, really get serious about helping members pass the RVT exam. Get FREE information out to them in a language they can understand. Most new concepts need to start at a 7th or 8th grade reading level and move up from there. If I was being taught about nuclear waste, I would prefer to have the sophisticated terms introduced at a level I could relate to immediately then develop the terms as my understanding developed. MOST IMPORTANTLY, most sonographers love the career because they are highly visual people, but we have yet to develop a sophisticated visual simulator that could teach how ultrasound and physics works. We should get vendors to support a project where a CD or DVD is developed at a 7th or 8th grade level that explains ultrasound and flow dynamics and physics. Then with higher passing rates we would have a society with higher integrity and respectability! This has been a stumbling block of the society for years. I know many people make their living off "ultrasound courses", HOWEVER the society needs to address the needs of its members and its members wants a respectable united professional organization where "no one if left behind." If at all possible. I have often thought of how in Seattle, Washington, the city undertook teaching every citizen CPR and had an 80% success rate because they felt it was that important that everyone was committed to it. I think we need to have the same mind set for vascular sonographer, EVERYONE SHOULD BE CREDENTIALED AND THE SVU should lead the fight with information available to ALL. Not just some who can afford the "specialized classes".

My family

I have a wonderful husband, Jody, who has driven me to hospitals in the wee hours of the morning so I would not have to be on the road alone, or who brought by lunch or dinner or both because I could not get away to eat. In our early years we always went out in separate cars because I was on call. To love this job, your family has to love it with you. We have a cat, Katie, whose life consist of snuggles and sharing her hair unrelentlessly.

What do you do for relaxation?

Bible study and praying with Jody, reading mystery novels and golfing. At work shooting the bull with the staff and telling "ultrasound stories."