Her Story
About Janet
I started my career in the equestrian business, running my own company for 16 years braiding horses' manes and tails at competitions around the Southeast. I watched other people I worked with getting older and struggling with standing on a ladder in the middle of the night with no other options. Having broken most of my bones myself, I decided to go back to school for radiology since I already knew how to position myself. I graduated in 2019 and had only one day before I started working full-time. I work in interventional radiology, which is a very male-driven world and a specialized subset of radiology. I was probably one of the older people in my class when I went back to school in my later 30s, with a child and a husband, while everyone else was either straight out of high school or in their early 20s. I connected more with my instructors on that level, and we're still great friends who go out and get drinks and dinner regularly. I just finished my bachelor's degree in Health Information Administration and will sit for my registered health information administration credentialing at the end of May, then start my MBA on June 1st. My ultimate goal is to utilize my strengths in administration and government regulations to help the United States reach a level where they can offer universal healthcare for all, because I see so many patients going into medical debt or being denied for procedures they desperately need because the insurance company says no.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Janet
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to finding what you like to do and finding a way to make money at it, and you'll never work a day in your life. I enjoy going to work, I enjoy working with my physicians, I enjoy working with my patients, I enjoy working with my coworkers, and just having something meaningful in your life makes all the difference.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to never stop learning. I just finished my bachelor's degree in Health Information Administration, and I will sit for my registered health information administration credentialing at the end of May. Then June 1st, I start my master's, my MBA.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Stand up for yourself. It's hard, especially in interventional radiology where I work, which is a very male-driven world. Just stand up for yourself and know your worth. Keep going, keep striving to be better each time you step at that table, each time you step up to help a patient.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest opportunities I see are in new technologies like teleneurology. I read about a company that just did their first mechanical thrombectomy on a stroke patient remotely. Being able to offer these new technologies, AI, and robotics to help people in areas where it's not offered to them is so cool. Being able to research these companies and new medical devices and how we're able to touch more people than we would be before is inspiring. There's also a company called Intuitive that makes the DaVinci robot, and they're building a new education center about 45 minutes from where I live where physicians can come in and learn how to use the robot and get credentialed on it to use in their practice.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Work ethic is everything to me. I've seen so many people who are more interested in what's going on in their social media account than what's going on right in front of them at work. You're being paid to be there and be present. Just being present, being educated in what you do, and knowing that there's strong women out there who can do the same thing that a man can do.
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