Influential Woman · Medical Device

Tiphany Coleman

Sr. Clinical Specialist, Calyxo, Inc.

Randallstown, MD 21133

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Cert Certified Surgical Technologist Cert Certified Surgical Technologist Instructor

Her Story

About Tiphany

I've spent 14 years in healthcare, beginning as a surgical technologist and then advancing to first assist. My career took an unexpected turn when I was injured at work by a patient coming out of anesthesia, which tore my ECU tendon in my wrist. While home on workers' comp, I decided I didn't necessarily want to go back into the OR and wanted to see what else was out there. I applied for a contractor position with my current company in July 2024, met with the director of education, and by October 2024 I was full-time. As a Senior Clinical Specialist, I have a very unique perspective because I did scrub for a period of time before coming into the med device world. A typical day for me involves going into the OR to train physicians and ancillary staff on setup of our feedback system, showing surgeons how to use the device with tips and tricks and nuances, and attending cases to help them throughout, letting them know about transition points and what they need to do as they wrap up. The most rewarding part is knowing I'm able to help these patients and give them better outcomes, especially as it relates to kidney stones, so they don't have to go back for subsequent procedures and can continue to live lives free of pain.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Tiphany

01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best career advice I've received is simply 'you can do it.' Even from starting as a scrub tech, which was not easy at all, learning all of the different instrumentation, knowing what to do for all different service lines, and sometimes knowing those particular procedures almost as well as the surgeons, it can feel very overwhelming. But for me, the biggest advice is you can do it, you got this. My mama always pushed me to keep going, and that support has been invaluable throughout my career.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

Keep trying. It is so very hard to break into this industry, and sometimes it's not what you know, it's who you know. Make connections, use those connections, and see what other people did to try to get their foot in the door. Talk to others. And if you can't get through going through the front door, sometimes you gotta go in through the back door. Be persistent. So many people feel like, especially from where I come from as a surgical tech, that that's like the end of the road, you're stuck. But I want to let them know that hey, there are other things out here that you can do. There's another step that you can take. It may take a little bit of hard work, but it is possible, you can do it.

Keep Exploring