The field of cardiology technology sort of ambushed me. It is the current point in a long line of career possibilities that I have considered over the course of my life. I have always considered the field of healthcare (for the most part) ever since I was very young. At about age four, my father sat me down and told me “Kristen, the money is in healthcare. You need to make lots of money so you can put me in a nice home when I get old.” Well, maybe those weren’t his exact words but you get the general sentiment. For me, it was actually a perfect fit because I loved to take care of people even from an early age. From then on, I grew up always thinking I would become a doctor, like many children do. It wasn’t until high school when I started to realize that one does not need to become a doctor to help people and work in the health care field. I started university in pharmacy but quickly realized that was not the path I was meant for. I had a few different majors but ultimately landed on kinesiology which was the beginning of my career in healthcare.
After a few years of working as a kinesiologist I found myself wanting a little more. At this point I considered a lot of options again including public health, physiotherapy and nursing. None of these options seemed right for me. Now at this point I was looking closely at a master’s in public health, and ended up coming across the cardiology technology program online. I had actually had a conversation a few months prior with a RCT at the QEII in Halifax about her job: what she liked, what she didn’t, and the sort of things she does on a daily basis. I had never met someone so enthusiastic about their job and she actually put the option of cardio tech on my radar (unannounced to her, this would later be one of my instructors at Stenberg – Thanks Jen!). When I found the program at Stenberg I thought back to this day. I was very interested in working with the heart in specific, I liked working with people on a day to day basis, and this seemed like a crucial job in the hospital environment. There was a big technological aspect to the job and I would see a variety of things day to day. Most importantly I would get to wear scrubs everyday to work! My friends always laugh at me over that one, but I just think they are so comfy. This definitely described the job of a cardiology technologist!
My main reason changing careers and for choosing cardio tech was because I needed a career where I felt I would be making a difference, always learning something new and being on the cutting edge of technology, and in an environment where I can always be advancing. Based on these criteria and my own personal interests, cardiology technology worked out to be the perfect fit.
To know more about Cardiology Technologist Program and Career, check out this video.
![An ECG demonstrates the extensive antero-septal-lateral myocardial infarction [heart attack] that Taryn witnessed.](https://stenbergcollege.com/wp-content/smush-webp/2022/12/ecg-1024x530.jpg.webp)
