Meet Colin Wambold, RT(R)

Tell us about your background: I graduated from Iowa Methodist College of Radiologic Technology in 2002. After graduating I moved cross-country and worked as a general rad tech in Napa CA at the Queen of the Valley hospital for several years. I took a long break from radiology after that, working in IT and Web Design. I moved to Iowa City and returned to radiology in 2018, where I worked as a general radiology tech here at the University of Iowa. In April of 2020 I transferred to Interventional, and I plan to work in IR for the rest of my career.

Why did you pick RT/CVI as your career field? I actually never intended to have a career in radiology. After high school I got a job by chance at Iowa Methodist Hospital in the radiology film file management department, back in the olden days of plain films and big patient file folders. I made friends with many techs during my time there, found radiology to be very interesting, and decided to pursue the career after working in the department for about a year.

What’s your favorite exam? My favorite procedures to be a part of are stroke thrombectomies that we perform in the OR, because that's the procedure that puts me closest to life-saving efforts. It is both challenging and rewarding to work alongside our endovascular neurosurgeons, performing angiography to locate the clot and remove it, sometimes even seeing the patients’ condition improve immediately.

Advice for anyone interested in the RT career field? Never stop learning. Medicine, and specifically medical imaging, is an ever-evolving and expanding field, with new and experimental technology constantly being introduced. Seek out new challenges whenever possible, and don't be afraid of new technology. This industry is far more advanced than it was 20 years ago, and 20 years from now, who knows where we'll be!