November 11, 2025 • 29 mins
In this powerful episode of HTM On The Line, host Bryant Hawkins Sr. sits down with Mike Reagan from Innovative Radiology, a veteran imaging engineer whose 38-year career stretches from a war-torn childhood in Eritrea to becoming one of the most respected voices in medical imaging.
Mike’s journey is an example of resilience and purpose. From being adopted out of a conflict zone to mastering some of the most advanced imaging systems in healthcare, he shares how faith, curiosity, and mentorship shaped every step of his path.
They discuss:
- How chance and divine timing led Mike into the biomedical field through the military.
- The day he accidentally quenched an MRI magnet, costing over $150,000, and how that moment of failure became a turning point in humility, leadership, and process improvement.
- The evolving role of AI in HTM, and why technology can assist but never replace the human heart behind the repair.
- The importance of valuing engineers, providing training, recognition, and real work-life balance to sustain the profession.
- Why HTM professionals must remember that behind every calibration is a patient whose life depends on it.
Mike’s story reminds us that true excellence isn’t about perfection, it’s about purpose, integrity, and showing up when it matters most.
Big thanks to our partners: College of Biomedical Equipment Technology, A.M. BICKFORD, INC., UptimeServices, MD Publishing and Innovative Radiology. Your support keeps the HTM mission alive!
This podcast was published by the B-Hawk Network.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Bryant Hawkins (00:01):
Welcome to HTM on the line.
I'm your host, Bryant HawkinsSr.
Today's episode is one of thoseconversations that reminds you
why this field is more than justa career, it's a calling.
My guest, Mike Reagan fromInnovative Radiology, has been
in the game for nearly fourdecades.
(00:22):
His story starts halfway aroundthe world and unfolds into a
journey built on purpose,resilience, and passion for the
craft.
From being adopted out of a warzone to mastering some of the
most advanced imaging systems inhealthcare, Mike's Life is a
testament to what happens whenskill meets heart.
(00:46):
So whether you're an industryveteran or just getting started,
this episode will remind youwhy what we do matters and why
doing it with excellencechallenges everything.
Let's get into it.
I'm with a special guest today,Mr.
(01:23):
Mike Reagan from InnovativeRadiology.
How are you doing today, Mike?
Mike ragan (01:28):
I am doing wonderful.
Thank you for having me onboard.
Bryant Hawkins (01:33):
Just give us a little bit about yourself, Mike.
Give us an history, like onwhere you're from, how long
you've been in the industry,what types of equipment you work
on.
I know you're an imagingengineer, but just give us a
little bit of information aboutyou.
Mike ragan (01:47):
As you know, my name is Michael Reagan or Mike
Reagan.
I'm originally from Eritrea orEthiopia.
Born there.
My mom passed when I was maybevery young, within six months of
me being being born.
The war between Ethiopia andEritrea was starting the
conflict, and my father wasinvolved in that war.
(02:09):
And so I was put into aCatholic home, and I got adopted
out of that Catholic home by anAmerican family who happened to
be over there.
And my American father was inthe same kind of industry that
I'm in, but he worked more intelecommunication and fixing
satellites and radar dishes andparabolic antennas and stuff
(02:32):
like that in the communicationsector of the army.
And so when he was over there,him and my American mom decided
to adopt a child.
I came back to Kansas, grew upnear Fort Riley, Junction City,
Kansas, home of the big red one.
And then from there ended upgoing to elementary, junior
(02:54):
high, high school, went toKansas State University.
And my thoughts was to pleasemy parents.
So I wanted to be uh a lawyer.
So that I thought that that wasgoing to be my passion, and
that really wasn't.
And so eventually I kind ofdropped out of school a couple
(03:14):
years into it.
I got my associate's degree,but then I went into the
military just for a new journeybecause I wasn't happy on the
journey that I was currently at.
And everything in the militarygot me into fixing things.
I was just a fixer.
I fixed uh air conditioners,air conditioners, refrigerators.
(03:35):
I worked on signal systems inthe telecommunication sector.
And then after two years in themilitary, I got reclassed
because the MOS that I reallynever worked in was over
strength.
So I was put on the needs ofthe army to uh get an MOS that
they needed manpower in, and Iqualified for biomedical
(04:00):
engineering.
And so it was by luck.
I think it was God intervenedand put me on this tangent to
where 30, 37, 38 years later,I'm loving the industry that I'm
in.
Bryant Hawkins (04:15):
Was there a specific moment or experience
early in your career that reallylocked in that sense of purpose
for you?
Mike ragan (04:25):
I would just say that being, you know, the best
you can be doing the job andhaving the passion to make every
job.
It's kind of taking one taskand walking the path through
that task to make sure it's thebest that it is.
(04:45):
And you're doing and and notbeing too scared to ask for
help.
I don't know if there was oneparticular area, but I think
just basically having pride ineverything that you do and
making sure that you're doingthe best that you can while
(05:06):
you're doing that that oneparticular task.
Bryant Hawkins (05:09):
Yes, right.
Now, how do you pass that samedrive and motivation you have to
the young techs that's cominginto the industry?
Mike ragan (05:21):
You gotta make them, in my opinion, you have to make
them understand, you know,especially in certain sectors
what you're doing.
It all is important, but yougot to give them the broad scope
of, you know, when I teach astudent or another colleague how
an ultrasound machine worksversus an x-ray machine works,
(05:44):
they've got to understand thefundamentals of those and what
the purpose of each device is todo in the back end.
What the what does the doctor,what is the clinician, the
people that are talking to thepatients directly, what are they
trying to see in the machinesthat we're actually
(06:05):
troubleshooting and repairing?
So if a person comes in thatdoesn't know imaging at all and
and gets confused with what a CTscanner is versus an x-ray
machine versus an ultrasound,each of them is deliberate in
their own, you know, in theirown build.
When they manufacturesomething, they're manufactured
for a particular reason.
(06:26):
And so sometimes getting themto understand there's a lot out
there, but you know, whateversegment that they land in,
whether it be ultrasound repair,x-ray repair, linear
accelerator repair, that theytry to understand the
fundamentals of what the whatthe goal of that modality is,
(06:50):
that device is, and what the endresult is.
Because if you know that, thenit comes down to understanding
the flow, the logic, thecommunication, what the
customer, the technologist isneeding.
So I try to get them tounderstand the fundamentals of
each machine that they touch.
Bryant Hawkins (07:08):
Imaging technology, we know today it's
just advancing in a crazy space.
You have AI integration, yougot cloud storage, predictive.
It's like changing everything.
So my question is do you see AIas a true partner or as
something that might complicateour world a bit?
(07:31):
Which how do you see AI?
Mike ragan (07:33):
It kind of can be a little bit intimidating because
you know, you always wonder ifyou're going to get replaced by
AI, but I really don't think so.
I think it's going to be anadvantage to the service
engineer to basically streamlineknowledge of what's broken,
(07:56):
what's wrong with that device.
Sometimes I'm worried that youknow, AI is going to be to the
point to where the machineautomatically says, okay, Mike
Reagan, this CT scanner needsthis, this, and this.
And here comes these partsbeing FedEx to the location.
(08:21):
And then next thing you know,all I have to do is go and
install it and calibrate it andso forth.
But you know, in thetroubleshooting aspect, I think
it's going to be very, you know,beneficial to where some of the
reports and the reporting thatwe have to go into the air logs
now to deduce some problems withthe machine, it's automatically
(08:42):
going to be spit out at usbefore we it's going to be
analytics that we can just login, possibly to through a cell
phone or through an app and say,oh, this machine is having this
particular problem.
These particular parts would bethe best possible ordered
suggestions.
And the cost is X amount ofdollars.
(09:03):
It can be there tomorrow at acertain time, and all we have to
do is show up and do what wedo.
I don't think our line of workwill go away.
I think it may be made easier,faster.
But sometimes it's you know itmakes you wonder what 20 years
(09:24):
from now is going to look like20 years.
Bryant Hawkins (09:31):
If AI could take over one announced part of your
job, which tasks would you handover first?
Mike ragan (09:41):
I personally speaking, I love the repair.
I love going to the site,interacting with the customer.
Realistically speaking, if itwas a documentation and the
service reports and and you knowgetting everything kind of
programmed in the background towhere I just do the work and you
(10:05):
know my documentation ishandled, expense reports are
handled, all that kind of stuffis done.
I think that would make youknow.
Bryant Hawkins (10:18):
Now, Mike, can you tell us about a time when
you had an itch issue with apiece of imaging equipment or
imaging system that really testsyour skills and composure?
But when you solve thatproblem, it reminded you why you
do what you do.
Because I know you guys inimaging, everything's high,
(10:41):
everything is high priority.
So you really go in with thepressure cooking.
So is there a time where youhad you know it test your skills
along with your till?
You seem like you're an eventill type of person, like you
even killed, like you always onlevel head.
Was there a time where yourskills and composure was tested?
Mike ragan (11:01):
Yes, a few years ago, actually trying to do a
test on an MRI that is an annualtest, and I was doing it for a
colleague because he because hewas on PTO.
And so I said, okay, it neededto be done by by the end of the
end of the week, which was youknow, it was already Tuesday or
(11:24):
Wednesday, and he needed itdone.
He was on PTO.
I went ahead and knocked itout, but then I quenched the
magnet, uh quenched the MRI.
And then that's uh very, verycostly.
Uh-oh, you know, so yeah, yeah,that was my that was my and
(11:47):
then you know, getting it fixedtook time, it cost the facility
money, you know, it was kind ofone of those things that am I
going to lose my job?
Because I was following theprocess, but the process was a
little bit ambiguous ambiguous,and you know, ended up quenching
a magnet.
And I was, you know, the systemwas working before I got there.
(12:10):
And then before, you know, whenI left, it was like I had to
talk to the director of thefacility and tell them that
their only MRI is no longerfunctional.
So it took us about a week toget it back operational, and
about $150,000.
Bryant Hawkins (12:35):
From you dealing with that experience, what did
you learn from that?
Mike ragan (12:40):
I think the biggest thing is things like that do
happen.
My leadership did support me onit.
And I think I was harder onmyself than you know,
leadership, management,healthcare community.
I was harder on myself becauseI'm very hard on myself, you
(13:04):
know.
You know, I have pride in whatI do, and taking down a magnet
after so many years of workingon systems like that is like you
don't want that in your historybooks, you know.
So, you know, I just had toforgive myself and leadership
for, you know, they didn't holdme responsible.
As a matter of fact, they theyextended, you know, saying, hey,
(13:25):
we need to get you uh to makesure that you do know this, you
know, so the next time thiswon't happen, and we have to
make it more to where this isnot a you read it the wrong way
and you press this button versuspress this button, and and you
know, things go south.
But I think the biggest thingis forgiving myself to say the
(13:47):
accidents like that can happen,but we try to minimize.
Bryant Hawkins (13:51):
During those moments, do you think those type
of intense moments are whattruly defines the HTM
profession?
Mike ragan (14:01):
I I think yes, the support with the leadership and
you know, understanding thatwe're a community, that we have
to do better to be better.
Things like getting training,understanding who we can call in
a situation like this.
I think, you know, we there arecertain things to do the walk
(14:27):
that we walk on a daily basis.
You need the support from yourleadership, you need the support
from the community, the HTMcommunity to you know pass out
the information.
You know, it's I'm very willingto help people learn.
And I just, you know, just wantthe people to to know as much
as I do, you know, and and andif there's people that have
(14:48):
information out there that I canglean, I'm willing to know it,
you know.
Bryant Hawkins (14:54):
Yeah, yeah, because that shows that you know
you're human.
And unfortunately, sometimes wedon't have that luxury to be
human and make mistakes, youknow, especially when you're
dealing with an MRI.
And that was amazing that yourleadership, you know, supported
you because when you quench amagnet, I mean, that's that's
(15:16):
that's not possible.
On no levels.
So I can kind of understandyour stress and the fact they
had your back, that's amazing.
And that truly shows that theHTM profession, you have people
that you know appreciate thework you do, and they're not
letting one situation defineyou.
And you know the old saying,what you go through, you grow
(15:39):
through.
So I'm more than sure that wasa horrible experience, but you
probably now became 10 timesbetter from that.
Mike ragan (15:48):
Right.
And and because the fact that Iwas doing it as a favor for
someone else, it's kind of evenworse.
It was like, wow, if the otherguy would have been here and
done that, maybe this wouldn'thave happened.
But it could have happened withhim too, because he would have
probably read the sameinstructions that I was given.
And and you know, it was it wasconfusing.
And I think you know, we hadcreated a process after that to
(16:12):
identify how the reading of thethe step-by-step, how to do this
particular test was incorrectlywritten.
You know, I think it maybe waswritten in in Germany and in in
German words and then translatedto English, and then it lost
(16:37):
direction.
And so you could, you know, youcould kind of fumble on that.
So we kind of went in and tookthose so it wouldn't happen
again.
So we made it clear and wehelped everybody to to make sure
they knew the step process.
Bryant Hawkins (16:57):
What's the biggest culture shift you've
noticed since you started?
Mike ragan (17:04):
You know, finding quality people out there
sometimes is hard.
I think sometimes the culturenow is just we as biomeds and
imaging service personnel, we'rekind of like I wouldn't say
trash men, but we, you know,they they get somebody and they
think, okay, well, he has alittle bit of background in
(17:26):
this, now he can do everything.
And it's you know, no, yougotta you kind of have to take
time to learn and bone up oncertain things to be, you know,
kind of a subject matter expertat this versus this versus that.
And I think sometimes theculture is as we try to get one
person to do, you know,mammography, x-ray, bone
(17:49):
density, C arms, linearaccelerators, CT, MRI,
portables, you know, injectors,cath labs, all that stuff.
And you cannot fill the oneperson to do all that and you
know have a uh a lifetime, youknow, a life, you know, they get
(18:10):
burnt out.
Bryant Hawkins (18:14):
Now, you mentioned all the high pressure
and all the things they ask ofyou, or not you, but of the
imaging engineer today.
How do you keep morale strongin such moments?
You know, you have so much onyour plate.
How do you keep your moralestrong?
Mike ragan (18:31):
I think the best way to keep morale strong is to
value your employees, value youryour peers.
You keep uh you give themtraining, you uh you understand
what's needed.
You know, you can't ask aperson to go and drive a car
without a driver's license.
(18:52):
You know, you can drive it, youcan drive it illegally, but you
know, you got to give them thekeys and the tools and the the
necessary items to do the joband not just expect them to
because he's right there to doit.
You know, kind of each one canteach one, but you know, the
(19:13):
analogy is is as it as thecommunication goes down the
pipe, it get kind of getswatered down.
So you gotta keep the training,you gotta keep, you know, you
gotta keep the training up.
You also have to compensate.
The industry, again, they'retrying to do more with less, but
then they're also trying to,you know, pay less, you know.
(19:35):
So there's a lot ofcompetition.
So they have to kind of come upand say, what is the industry
out there looking at?
We can't, you know, go with1980 standards in 2025, you
know, and have that pay.
And it's not about pay, it'sabout valuing that particular
service engineer, thatparticular person that's doing
(19:57):
the job and looking at onework-life balance, two
compensation, three education,you know, and then sometimes
kudos on what they did.
Sometimes, like I said, younever get recognized, you never
get thanked.
Not that we're looking forrecognition or thanks, but it's
like hurry up and hurry up andget here, and then hurry up and
(20:18):
leave, and we'll call you whenit breaks again, you know.
And then sometimes it's like,what are you doing here?
You know, what's broken now?
You know, so it's it can be itcan be sweet, and then sometimes
it can just be like, you know,trudgery, I guess you would say.
Okay, I'm just being honest.
Bryant Hawkins (20:40):
Well, hey, I appreciate that.
If you could redesign one thingabout the way hospitals treat
HTM professionals, what would itbe?
Hospitals clinics.
If you could redesign, redesignone thing about the way HTM
professionals are treated, whatwould it be?
Mike ragan (21:00):
I think by you know recognition, recognizing them
for who they are, you findthere's been many hospitals I've
gone into, and the biomeds, theimaging guys are in a basement,
in a closet.
They're in a room that isalmost like the movie office
(21:23):
space, where the guy's gettingmoved out of his cubicle into a
rat-infested little box, youknow, down in the cleaning area.
And you know, it's like it's itcan be kind of condescending to
come there year after year, dayafter day, and and be kind of
(21:45):
like put into a cubicle that isyou can't even store your test
equipment, you don't have enoughroom to have any parts and
stuff like that, and you're it'scold or damp, dark, you know,
it it's bad.
But I think recognition kindof, you know, not they don't
need to be treated like kingsand you know, princesses and
(22:07):
stuff like that, but they theyneed the you know, they need
space, they need understanding,they need kudos for what they've
done.
You walk through some of thehealthcare systems that I've
walked through, there's not asingle picture of a biomed or an
imaging service engineer.
(22:27):
You have people likehousekeeping, you have people
like nurses, you have peoplelike technologists, doctors that
are all throughout thehospital, but you have no
pictures of anybody that issupport staff, whether it be
even in the uh mechanicalengineering, the guys that keep
the facilities operational.
I've noticed that there's veryfew limited amount of pictures
(22:51):
with that.
And I think that's you know,you got to support and even show
that we exist.
I think that the world doesn'tknow that we exist.
Before I got into this field, Ididn't know that, you know,
there was anything like biomedor imaging, you know, who took
care?
I didn't know who took care ofthe equipment in the hospital.
(23:12):
I assumed somebody was doingit, but I had no clue.
So we're kind of a forgottenentity.
Bryant Hawkins (23:19):
Oh, definitely always.
Yeah.
Now, what's one piece of advicethat kept you grounded
throughout your career?
Mike ragan (23:29):
It's just focus on the task and then do a good job
at that and knock that out ofthe box, you know, out of the
park, and then move on to thenext.
Bryant Hawkins (23:41):
If you were talking to a classroom full of
juniors and seniors, what wouldyou tell them about the HTM
industry?
Mike ragan (23:54):
I would say it would be a great field to get into.
If you're into fixing things,repairing things, learning how
things work, if you'reanalytical, if you have a
passion for future and science,if you have a direction in in
like AI or working with roboticsor mechanical, this is a great
(24:19):
career field.
It's it's it's uh a careerfield that will take you in any
direction.
You can get, you know, you canhit it at the thousand-foot
level and see how everythingkind of works, but then you'll
probably end up in a specificfield, you know, and that that
field that you get into will besomething that you will 20
(24:41):
years, 30 years later you'llstill be doing and you'll be
loving it.
So I would highly recommend,you know, learning about it,
onboarding with somebody, youknow, getting mentored by
somebody, kind of defining whatcertain things do, what the
objective is, and coming onboard and you know, you you'll
(25:06):
you'll really enjoy it.
I think you really will.
The the pay is decent, the it'sit's consistent.
There's always something to do,and we we would love to have
you.
Bryant Hawkins (25:21):
When you look back years from now, what did
you want people to say about myReagan impact in HTM?
Mike ragan (25:31):
I would like to be known as a person that was very
ethical, that he did what hesaid and said what he did.
And he believed that the reasonhe is here is to take care of
that patient that comes into thehospital.
(25:52):
You know, I might never seethem, might never speak to them,
but I want to know at the endof the day that you know, my
calibrating a piece of equipmentcorrectly, properly, taking the
time to do what I can do on amachine painstakingly, laying on
the floor, doing what I've gotto do, and tightening up
(26:15):
something and adjusting a beltor calibrating an X-ray tube
that possibly that led to apositive outcome on that
patient's journey.
I'm very, verypatient-centered.
I do this for the particularpatient that comes into the
hospital.
I see them come sick and I seethem hopefully leave well.
(26:38):
And that's you know what Iwould like to be, you know,
remembered as.
This guy was very ethical.
He was a hard worker, he knewwhat he was doing.
If he didn't know what he'sdoing, he knew who to call to
get support and help.
And I loved doing every daywhat I do.
Bryant Hawkins (26:55):
If your equipment could leave you a Yelp
review, what do you think itwould say?
Mike ragan (27:03):
Well, you know, when Mike comes to uh work on me, I
know that he's gonna bring thatawful vacuum cleaner and that
the teapot blower and dust meout and all the dust and debris
that was in the fans andeverything.
I feel like I'm 10 poundslighter, I can breathe a lot
(27:23):
easier, and I feel a lot better,you know, where I was kind of
lagging a five-volt powersupply, was limping along at 4.7
volts, and he adjusted me up to5.1, 5.25.
So it would be on the top endof the spectrum, and I feel much
(27:45):
better.
And I'm doing what I'm supposedto do so I can help this
patient.
Bryant Hawkins (27:51):
Great answer, man.
Well, Mike, look man, Iappreciate you taking some time
to come on HTMLine.
Congratulations on an awesomecareer, man.
38 years is nothing to sneezeat.
A lot of people don't get thatlong in this industry, and it's
to be commended.
And I appreciate you coming on,and I wish you much success in
(28:12):
your continued great career.
Mike ragan (28:14):
Well, thank you so much.
Thank you for having me.
I appreciate us gettingtogether and doing this.
And if there's anybody thatwould like to, I'm very much a I
like to teach, I like to spreadmy knowledge to where I think I
get that from my mom as aschool teacher.
(28:34):
I just like to teach and I liketeaching and mentoring people
in this field.
Love doing it, you know.
And I try to put it into a waythat they can understand where
the light bulb comes on.
And that's just a big passionthat I have for being in the HTM
community.
Bryant Hawkins (28:55):
You know, Mike's story reminds us this work
isn't just about fixingequipment, it's about impact.
Every repair, everycalibration, every long day
means someone gets anotherchance at life.
So keep showing up, keepgrowing, keep serving with
(29:16):
purpose.
Because in HTM, excellenceisn't about being perfect, it's
about being present when itmatters most.
This is HTM on the line fromBryant Hawkins Sr.
Stay purpose driven, stayunstoppable.
Welcome to HTM on the line.
I'm your host, Bryant HawkinsSr.
Today's episode is one of thoseconversations that reminds you
why this field is more than justa career, it's a calling.
My guest, Mike Reagan fromInnovative Radiology, has been
in the game for nearly fourdecades.
(00:22):
His story starts halfway aroundthe world and unfolds into a
journey built on purpose,resilience, and passion for the
craft.
From being adopted out of a warzone to mastering some of the
most advanced imaging systems inhealthcare, Mike's Life is a
testament to what happens whenskill meets heart.
(00:46):
So whether you're an industryveteran or just getting started,
this episode will remind youwhy what we do matters and why
doing it with excellencechallenges everything.
Let's get into it.
I'm with a special guest today,Mr.
(01:23):
Mike Reagan from InnovativeRadiology.
How are you doing today, Mike?
Mike ragan (01:28):
I am doing wonderful.
Thank you for having me onboard.
Bryant Hawkins (01:33):
Just give us a little bit about yourself, Mike.
Give us an history, like onwhere you're from, how long
you've been in the industry,what types of equipment you work
on.
I know you're an imagingengineer, but just give us a
little bit of information aboutyou.
Mike ragan (01:47):
As you know, my name is Michael Reagan or Mike
Reagan.
I'm originally from Eritrea orEthiopia.
Born there.
My mom passed when I was maybevery young, within six months of
me being being born.
The war between Ethiopia andEritrea was starting the
conflict, and my father wasinvolved in that war.
(02:09):
And so I was put into aCatholic home, and I got adopted
out of that Catholic home by anAmerican family who happened to
be over there.
And my American father was inthe same kind of industry that
I'm in, but he worked more intelecommunication and fixing
satellites and radar dishes andparabolic antennas and stuff
(02:32):
like that in the communicationsector of the army.
And so when he was over there,him and my American mom decided
to adopt a child.
I came back to Kansas, grew upnear Fort Riley, Junction City,
Kansas, home of the big red one.
And then from there ended upgoing to elementary, junior
(02:54):
high, high school, went toKansas State University.
And my thoughts was to pleasemy parents.
So I wanted to be uh a lawyer.
So that I thought that that wasgoing to be my passion, and
that really wasn't.
And so eventually I kind ofdropped out of school a couple
(03:14):
years into it.
I got my associate's degree,but then I went into the
military just for a new journeybecause I wasn't happy on the
journey that I was currently at.
And everything in the militarygot me into fixing things.
I was just a fixer.
I fixed uh air conditioners,air conditioners, refrigerators.
(03:35):
I worked on signal systems inthe telecommunication sector.
And then after two years in themilitary, I got reclassed
because the MOS that I reallynever worked in was over
strength.
So I was put on the needs ofthe army to uh get an MOS that
they needed manpower in, and Iqualified for biomedical
(04:00):
engineering.
And so it was by luck.
I think it was God intervenedand put me on this tangent to
where 30, 37, 38 years later,I'm loving the industry that I'm
in.
Bryant Hawkins (04:15):
Was there a specific moment or experience
early in your career that reallylocked in that sense of purpose
for you?
Mike ragan (04:25):
I would just say that being, you know, the best
you can be doing the job andhaving the passion to make every
job.
It's kind of taking one taskand walking the path through
that task to make sure it's thebest that it is.
(04:45):
And you're doing and and notbeing too scared to ask for
help.
I don't know if there was oneparticular area, but I think
just basically having pride ineverything that you do and
making sure that you're doingthe best that you can while
(05:06):
you're doing that that oneparticular task.
Bryant Hawkins (05:09):
Yes, right.
Now, how do you pass that samedrive and motivation you have to
the young techs that's cominginto the industry?
Mike ragan (05:21):
You gotta make them, in my opinion, you have to make
them understand, you know,especially in certain sectors
what you're doing.
It all is important, but yougot to give them the broad scope
of, you know, when I teach astudent or another colleague how
an ultrasound machine worksversus an x-ray machine works,
(05:44):
they've got to understand thefundamentals of those and what
the purpose of each device is todo in the back end.
What the what does the doctor,what is the clinician, the
people that are talking to thepatients directly, what are they
trying to see in the machinesthat we're actually
(06:05):
troubleshooting and repairing?
So if a person comes in thatdoesn't know imaging at all and
and gets confused with what a CTscanner is versus an x-ray
machine versus an ultrasound,each of them is deliberate in
their own, you know, in theirown build.
When they manufacturesomething, they're manufactured
for a particular reason.
(06:26):
And so sometimes getting themto understand there's a lot out
there, but you know, whateversegment that they land in,
whether it be ultrasound repair,x-ray repair, linear
accelerator repair, that theytry to understand the
fundamentals of what the whatthe goal of that modality is,
(06:50):
that device is, and what the endresult is.
Because if you know that, thenit comes down to understanding
the flow, the logic, thecommunication, what the
customer, the technologist isneeding.
So I try to get them tounderstand the fundamentals of
each machine that they touch.
Bryant Hawkins (07:08):
Imaging technology, we know today it's
just advancing in a crazy space.
You have AI integration, yougot cloud storage, predictive.
It's like changing everything.
So my question is do you see AIas a true partner or as
something that might complicateour world a bit?
(07:31):
Which how do you see AI?
Mike ragan (07:33):
It kind of can be a little bit intimidating because
you know, you always wonder ifyou're going to get replaced by
AI, but I really don't think so.
I think it's going to be anadvantage to the service
engineer to basically streamlineknowledge of what's broken,
(07:56):
what's wrong with that device.
Sometimes I'm worried that youknow, AI is going to be to the
point to where the machineautomatically says, okay, Mike
Reagan, this CT scanner needsthis, this, and this.
And here comes these partsbeing FedEx to the location.
(08:21):
And then next thing you know,all I have to do is go and
install it and calibrate it andso forth.
But you know, in thetroubleshooting aspect, I think
it's going to be very, you know,beneficial to where some of the
reports and the reporting thatwe have to go into the air logs
now to deduce some problems withthe machine, it's automatically
(08:42):
going to be spit out at usbefore we it's going to be
analytics that we can just login, possibly to through a cell
phone or through an app and say,oh, this machine is having this
particular problem.
These particular parts would bethe best possible ordered
suggestions.
And the cost is X amount ofdollars.
(09:03):
It can be there tomorrow at acertain time, and all we have to
do is show up and do what wedo.
I don't think our line of workwill go away.
I think it may be made easier,faster.
But sometimes it's you know itmakes you wonder what 20 years
(09:24):
from now is going to look like20 years.
Bryant Hawkins (09:31):
If AI could take over one announced part of your
job, which tasks would you handover first?
Mike ragan (09:41):
I personally speaking, I love the repair.
I love going to the site,interacting with the customer.
Realistically speaking, if itwas a documentation and the
service reports and and you knowgetting everything kind of
programmed in the background towhere I just do the work and you
(10:05):
know my documentation ishandled, expense reports are
handled, all that kind of stuffis done.
I think that would make youknow.
Bryant Hawkins (10:18):
Now, Mike, can you tell us about a time when
you had an itch issue with apiece of imaging equipment or
imaging system that really testsyour skills and composure?
But when you solve thatproblem, it reminded you why you
do what you do.
Because I know you guys inimaging, everything's high,
(10:41):
everything is high priority.
So you really go in with thepressure cooking.
So is there a time where youhad you know it test your skills
along with your till?
You seem like you're an eventill type of person, like you
even killed, like you always onlevel head.
Was there a time where yourskills and composure was tested?
Mike ragan (11:01):
Yes, a few years ago, actually trying to do a
test on an MRI that is an annualtest, and I was doing it for a
colleague because he because hewas on PTO.
And so I said, okay, it neededto be done by by the end of the
end of the week, which was youknow, it was already Tuesday or
(11:24):
Wednesday, and he needed itdone.
He was on PTO.
I went ahead and knocked itout, but then I quenched the
magnet, uh quenched the MRI.
And then that's uh very, verycostly.
Uh-oh, you know, so yeah, yeah,that was my that was my and
(11:47):
then you know, getting it fixedtook time, it cost the facility
money, you know, it was kind ofone of those things that am I
going to lose my job?
Because I was following theprocess, but the process was a
little bit ambiguous ambiguous,and you know, ended up quenching
a magnet.
And I was, you know, the systemwas working before I got there.
(12:10):
And then before, you know, whenI left, it was like I had to
talk to the director of thefacility and tell them that
their only MRI is no longerfunctional.
So it took us about a week toget it back operational, and
about $150,000.
Bryant Hawkins (12:35):
From you dealing with that experience, what did
you learn from that?
Mike ragan (12:40):
I think the biggest thing is things like that do
happen.
My leadership did support me onit.
And I think I was harder onmyself than you know,
leadership, management,healthcare community.
I was harder on myself becauseI'm very hard on myself, you
(13:04):
know.
You know, I have pride in whatI do, and taking down a magnet
after so many years of workingon systems like that is like you
don't want that in your historybooks, you know.
So, you know, I just had toforgive myself and leadership
for, you know, they didn't holdme responsible.
As a matter of fact, they theyextended, you know, saying, hey,
(13:25):
we need to get you uh to makesure that you do know this, you
know, so the next time thiswon't happen, and we have to
make it more to where this isnot a you read it the wrong way
and you press this button versuspress this button, and and you
know, things go south.
But I think the biggest thingis forgiving myself to say the
(13:47):
accidents like that can happen,but we try to minimize.
Bryant Hawkins (13:51):
During those moments, do you think those type
of intense moments are whattruly defines the HTM
profession?
Mike ragan (14:01):
I I think yes, the support with the leadership and
you know, understanding thatwe're a community, that we have
to do better to be better.
Things like getting training,understanding who we can call in
a situation like this.
I think, you know, we there arecertain things to do the walk
(14:27):
that we walk on a daily basis.
You need the support from yourleadership, you need the support
from the community, the HTMcommunity to you know pass out
the information.
You know, it's I'm very willingto help people learn.
And I just, you know, just wantthe people to to know as much
as I do, you know, and and andif there's people that have
(14:48):
information out there that I canglean, I'm willing to know it,
you know.
Bryant Hawkins (14:54):
Yeah, yeah, because that shows that you know
you're human.
And unfortunately, sometimes wedon't have that luxury to be
human and make mistakes, youknow, especially when you're
dealing with an MRI.
And that was amazing that yourleadership, you know, supported
you because when you quench amagnet, I mean, that's that's
(15:16):
that's not possible.
On no levels.
So I can kind of understandyour stress and the fact they
had your back, that's amazing.
And that truly shows that theHTM profession, you have people
that you know appreciate thework you do, and they're not
letting one situation defineyou.
And you know the old saying,what you go through, you grow
(15:39):
through.
So I'm more than sure that wasa horrible experience, but you
probably now became 10 timesbetter from that.
Mike ragan (15:48):
Right.
And and because the fact that Iwas doing it as a favor for
someone else, it's kind of evenworse.
It was like, wow, if the otherguy would have been here and
done that, maybe this wouldn'thave happened.
But it could have happened withhim too, because he would have
probably read the sameinstructions that I was given.
And and you know, it was it wasconfusing.
And I think you know, we hadcreated a process after that to
(16:12):
identify how the reading of thethe step-by-step, how to do this
particular test was incorrectlywritten.
You know, I think it maybe waswritten in in Germany and in in
German words and then translatedto English, and then it lost
(16:37):
direction.
And so you could, you know, youcould kind of fumble on that.
So we kind of went in and tookthose so it wouldn't happen
again.
So we made it clear and wehelped everybody to to make sure
they knew the step process.
Bryant Hawkins (16:57):
What's the biggest culture shift you've
noticed since you started?
Mike ragan (17:04):
You know, finding quality people out there
sometimes is hard.
I think sometimes the culturenow is just we as biomeds and
imaging service personnel, we'rekind of like I wouldn't say
trash men, but we, you know,they they get somebody and they
think, okay, well, he has alittle bit of background in
(17:26):
this, now he can do everything.
And it's you know, no, yougotta you kind of have to take
time to learn and bone up oncertain things to be, you know,
kind of a subject matter expertat this versus this versus that.
And I think sometimes theculture is as we try to get one
person to do, you know,mammography, x-ray, bone
(17:49):
density, C arms, linearaccelerators, CT, MRI,
portables, you know, injectors,cath labs, all that stuff.
And you cannot fill the oneperson to do all that and you
know have a uh a lifetime, youknow, a life, you know, they get
(18:10):
burnt out.
Bryant Hawkins (18:14):
Now, you mentioned all the high pressure
and all the things they ask ofyou, or not you, but of the
imaging engineer today.
How do you keep morale strongin such moments?
You know, you have so much onyour plate.
How do you keep your moralestrong?
Mike ragan (18:31):
I think the best way to keep morale strong is to
value your employees, value youryour peers.
You keep uh you give themtraining, you uh you understand
what's needed.
You know, you can't ask aperson to go and drive a car
without a driver's license.
(18:52):
You know, you can drive it, youcan drive it illegally, but you
know, you got to give them thekeys and the tools and the the
necessary items to do the joband not just expect them to
because he's right there to doit.
You know, kind of each one canteach one, but you know, the
(19:13):
analogy is is as it as thecommunication goes down the
pipe, it get kind of getswatered down.
So you gotta keep the training,you gotta keep, you know, you
gotta keep the training up.
You also have to compensate.
The industry, again, they'retrying to do more with less, but
then they're also trying to,you know, pay less, you know.
(19:35):
So there's a lot ofcompetition.
So they have to kind of come upand say, what is the industry
out there looking at?
We can't, you know, go with1980 standards in 2025, you
know, and have that pay.
And it's not about pay, it'sabout valuing that particular
service engineer, thatparticular person that's doing
(19:57):
the job and looking at onework-life balance, two
compensation, three education,you know, and then sometimes
kudos on what they did.
Sometimes, like I said, younever get recognized, you never
get thanked.
Not that we're looking forrecognition or thanks, but it's
like hurry up and hurry up andget here, and then hurry up and
(20:18):
leave, and we'll call you whenit breaks again, you know.
And then sometimes it's like,what are you doing here?
You know, what's broken now?
You know, so it's it can be itcan be sweet, and then sometimes
it can just be like, you know,trudgery, I guess you would say.
Okay, I'm just being honest.
Bryant Hawkins (20:40):
Well, hey, I appreciate that.
If you could redesign one thingabout the way hospitals treat
HTM professionals, what would itbe?
Hospitals clinics.
If you could redesign, redesignone thing about the way HTM
professionals are treated, whatwould it be?
Mike ragan (21:00):
I think by you know recognition, recognizing them
for who they are, you findthere's been many hospitals I've
gone into, and the biomeds, theimaging guys are in a basement,
in a closet.
They're in a room that isalmost like the movie office
(21:23):
space, where the guy's gettingmoved out of his cubicle into a
rat-infested little box, youknow, down in the cleaning area.
And you know, it's like it's itcan be kind of condescending to
come there year after year, dayafter day, and and be kind of
(21:45):
like put into a cubicle that isyou can't even store your test
equipment, you don't have enoughroom to have any parts and
stuff like that, and you're it'scold or damp, dark, you know,
it it's bad.
But I think recognition kindof, you know, not they don't
need to be treated like kingsand you know, princesses and
(22:07):
stuff like that, but they theyneed the you know, they need
space, they need understanding,they need kudos for what they've
done.
You walk through some of thehealthcare systems that I've
walked through, there's not asingle picture of a biomed or an
imaging service engineer.
(22:27):
You have people likehousekeeping, you have people
like nurses, you have peoplelike technologists, doctors that
are all throughout thehospital, but you have no
pictures of anybody that issupport staff, whether it be
even in the uh mechanicalengineering, the guys that keep
the facilities operational.
I've noticed that there's veryfew limited amount of pictures
(22:51):
with that.
And I think that's you know,you got to support and even show
that we exist.
I think that the world doesn'tknow that we exist.
Before I got into this field, Ididn't know that, you know,
there was anything like biomedor imaging, you know, who took
care?
I didn't know who took care ofthe equipment in the hospital.
(23:12):
I assumed somebody was doingit, but I had no clue.
So we're kind of a forgottenentity.
Bryant Hawkins (23:19):
Oh, definitely always.
Yeah.
Now, what's one piece of advicethat kept you grounded
throughout your career?
Mike ragan (23:29):
It's just focus on the task and then do a good job
at that and knock that out ofthe box, you know, out of the
park, and then move on to thenext.
Bryant Hawkins (23:41):
If you were talking to a classroom full of
juniors and seniors, what wouldyou tell them about the HTM
industry?
Mike ragan (23:54):
I would say it would be a great field to get into.
If you're into fixing things,repairing things, learning how
things work, if you'reanalytical, if you have a
passion for future and science,if you have a direction in in
like AI or working with roboticsor mechanical, this is a great
(24:19):
career field.
It's it's it's uh a careerfield that will take you in any
direction.
You can get, you know, you canhit it at the thousand-foot
level and see how everythingkind of works, but then you'll
probably end up in a specificfield, you know, and that that
field that you get into will besomething that you will 20
(24:41):
years, 30 years later you'llstill be doing and you'll be
loving it.
So I would highly recommend,you know, learning about it,
onboarding with somebody, youknow, getting mentored by
somebody, kind of defining whatcertain things do, what the
objective is, and coming onboard and you know, you you'll
(25:06):
you'll really enjoy it.
I think you really will.
The the pay is decent, the it'sit's consistent.
There's always something to do,and we we would love to have
you.
Bryant Hawkins (25:21):
When you look back years from now, what did
you want people to say about myReagan impact in HTM?
Mike ragan (25:31):
I would like to be known as a person that was very
ethical, that he did what hesaid and said what he did.
And he believed that the reasonhe is here is to take care of
that patient that comes into thehospital.
(25:52):
You know, I might never seethem, might never speak to them,
but I want to know at the endof the day that you know, my
calibrating a piece of equipmentcorrectly, properly, taking the
time to do what I can do on amachine painstakingly, laying on
the floor, doing what I've gotto do, and tightening up
(26:15):
something and adjusting a beltor calibrating an X-ray tube
that possibly that led to apositive outcome on that
patient's journey.
I'm very, verypatient-centered.
I do this for the particularpatient that comes into the
hospital.
I see them come sick and I seethem hopefully leave well.
(26:38):
And that's you know what Iwould like to be, you know,
remembered as.
This guy was very ethical.
He was a hard worker, he knewwhat he was doing.
If he didn't know what he'sdoing, he knew who to call to
get support and help.
And I loved doing every daywhat I do.
Bryant Hawkins (26:55):
If your equipment could leave you a Yelp
review, what do you think itwould say?
Mike ragan (27:03):
Well, you know, when Mike comes to uh work on me, I
know that he's gonna bring thatawful vacuum cleaner and that
the teapot blower and dust meout and all the dust and debris
that was in the fans andeverything.
I feel like I'm 10 poundslighter, I can breathe a lot
(27:23):
easier, and I feel a lot better,you know, where I was kind of
lagging a five-volt powersupply, was limping along at 4.7
volts, and he adjusted me up to5.1, 5.25.
So it would be on the top endof the spectrum, and I feel much
(27:45):
better.
And I'm doing what I'm supposedto do so I can help this
patient.
Bryant Hawkins (27:51):
Great answer, man.
Well, Mike, look man, Iappreciate you taking some time
to come on HTMLine.
Congratulations on an awesomecareer, man.
38 years is nothing to sneezeat.
A lot of people don't get thatlong in this industry, and it's
to be commended.
And I appreciate you coming on,and I wish you much success in
(28:12):
your continued great career.
Mike ragan (28:14):
Well, thank you so much.
Thank you for having me.
I appreciate us gettingtogether and doing this.
And if there's anybody thatwould like to, I'm very much a I
like to teach, I like to spreadmy knowledge to where I think I
get that from my mom as aschool teacher.
(28:34):
I just like to teach and I liketeaching and mentoring people
in this field.
Love doing it, you know.
And I try to put it into a waythat they can understand where
the light bulb comes on.
And that's just a big passionthat I have for being in the HTM
community.
Bryant Hawkins (28:55):
You know, Mike's story reminds us this work
isn't just about fixingequipment, it's about impact.
Every repair, everycalibration, every long day
means someone gets anotherchance at life.
So keep showing up, keepgrowing, keep serving with
(29:16):
purpose.
Because in HTM, excellenceisn't about being perfect, it's
about being present when itmatters most.
This is HTM on the line fromBryant Hawkins Sr.
Stay purpose driven, stayunstoppable.
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