Merrill Award Winners
Jan. 31, 2018
Aurora Marinescu RT(R) played a lead role in reviving the Merrill Award in 2017, which makes winning the award for October all the more meaningful.
“It’s very encouraging to see all the images across the locations and see how it’s possible to deliver excellence under the worst conditions,” Aurora says of serving on the judging committee in previous months. Of winning this month, she says, “It’s a great feeling to know I’m capable of excellence and to see other radiographers keep persevering.”
Aurora first studied radiography in her native Romania at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca in in the heart of Transylvania. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 2000.
When she came to the U.S. several years later, she acquired U.S. credentials by completing an associate’s degree program at Gwinnett Tech. She fast-tracked her way to a job. “I graduated on a Thursday, took the certification exam on Friday, and started working at Emory on Monday.” That was ten years ago.
Several factors make her winning image so impressive. First, the image was taken with a portable x-ray unit. “Patient positioning and aligning all parts of the equipment are so challenging given the small space in the patient’s room,” Aurora explains. “The gentleman had very long lungs but the image field is limited so I had to use knowledge of anatomy and skill with the equipment to position correctly to get both lungs in the image and make it high quality.”
Aurora obtained the outstanding image in one shot.
Aurora advises other radiographers to “persevere and never feel discouraged because taking x-rays is not easy. Learn from each struggle what you can do better.”
Arora also advises radiographers to “create your own process for how you are going to do an exam and continually analyze how to improve your technique.”
At the same time, she emphasizes the importance of continuing education. She continually learns new ways of imaging and better techniques for mastering today’s advanced digital systems. “I’m a clinical instructor myself and I participate in symposia and workshops whenever they are in town,” she explains. “I work with our BMSc students a lot. I learn from them, too, so it’s great to share learning. They are a great resource for me. They keep pushing me to learn and grow.”
Loving what she does is the secret ingredient for delivering excellence, Aurora believes. “I love this job, I love taking x-rays. I consider my job very important so take pride in doing my best.”
She also credits the “wonderful team I work with,” for a job well-done. “There are a lot of good and kind nurses on the floors I love working with. I have to give this (award) to the team.”
The Merrill Award seeks to encourage excellence across all of Emory’s x-ray imaging locations. “It’s important for supervisors to encourage all x-ray techs to participate,” says Aurora. “We’re encouraging all sites to keep submitting nominations and recognizing people for doing a good job.”
The November award winner, Nancy Stauffer, RT(R), is a second-time winner, having won the first round after the award was revived. This award is for a high-quality bone study. To read about Nancy, who is a radiology technologist at Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center at Executive Park, click here.
A tech may self-nominate or be nominated by someone else—radiologist, supervisor, or even another tech. Nominations are due by the last day of the month and should be sent by email to the Merrill Award Selection Committee member representing the tech’s location (click here for a list). The three highest scoring images from each site then are sent to the full committee for a new round of scoring. The highest scoring image wins for that month.
