Heartbeat: Leading the way – Karen Jones joins imaging

October 30, 2020

Imaging welcomes Karen Jones as their new lead radiographer. Excited to hear about everything she has been up to since she joined the Trust, Heartbeat caught up with her for a chat.

Karen’s career began in 1983 when she qualified as a radiographer from the School of Radiography in Birmingham. She told us: “I was trained by the one and only Miss Muriel Chesney – she was a leading authority in teaching radiography.

“After qualifying, I went on to work at numerous hospitals both NHS and private. I was an x-ray superintendent at Royal Orthopaedic Hospital for several years and gained specialised knowledge of orthopaedic radiography. I have a great sense of gratitude to all of my colleagues that have helped me along the way since I started in my career.”

When asked what her most interesting place to work has been so far, Karen commented that it had to be the accident hospital in Birmingham which is sadly no longer standing. “A helicopter would land outside on Bath Row directly in front of the major injuries unit.”

Looking to the future here at SWB, Karen remarked: “My role here as clinical radiography lead enables me to support radiographers whilst ensuring the department improves to its optimum potential. I have introduced some quality improvements to the service and hope to work alongside colleagues to incorporate more of their ideas regarding improvement.

“I’ve hit the ground running with COVID-19 setting the pace of what we do and changing how we work. It’s been a great time to start in my new role as everyone has been so friendly and I felt like part of a family straight away.”

Outside of work, Karen enjoys playing golf and when the weather breaks; she puts her knitting skills to good use and makes bonding squares for the neonatal unit. She has passed an advanced driving course, holds an IAM roadsmart membership and is currently teaching her daughter to drive.