Meet Our SHC Radiologic Nurses

please read their biographies below.

Harmandeep (Harm) Madra, RN, patient care manager, went to nursing school in British Columbia and chose nursing because he was inspired by his sister, who is also a nurse. He began his career in nursing working in the medical surgical units of a small community hospital and later, transferred to the emergency room (ER) and intensive care unit (ICU). In 2000, he decided to move to Palo Alto and applied for a nursing position in the Stanford Hospital and Clinics (SHC) ER and was hired. After six months, Mr. Madra was promoted to night assistant nurse manager, and eventually earned a specialty certificate in ER nursing. In early 2006, he decided he needed a change and joined the Radiology Department because he felt it was time to learn something new in a nursing field that was just emerging. It was challenging learning the new work flows and different examinations, but very rewarding. At Stanford, Mr. Madra is helping to develop the field of radiologic nursing. Along with the American Radiological Nurses Association (ARNA), he co-sponsored Stanford's first symposium in radiologic nursing in October of 2008, which attracted about 80 attendees from all over the Bay Area. His future plans include furthering his management career by completing his MBA at the College of Notre Dame in Belmont.

Dave Allan, RN, earned his nursing diploma in Glasgow, Scotland. He chose nursing because he wanted to work in a field where he could contribute by giving something back: "I took a job as an orderly in a cancer hospital after high school and from that experience, I migrated into a nursing program." After many years of serving as a nurse in the ER, ICU, and cardiac cath lab, Mr. Allan was looking for a change, and radiologic nursing seemed like a natural progression based on his background. So, after arriving at Stanford Hospital and Clinics in 2004 and working in the cath labs, he switched to Radiology in early 2006, and is now working at our newly opened Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center (SMOC) in Redwood City. His work is not without its challenges, which include successfully acquiring venous access in patients who are more anxious about getting intravenous contrast than the scan itself: "Because three-quarters of the exams we perform involve intravenous contrast, it's a skill that radiologic nurses have to master." Mr. Allan's work also involves trying to make the process less threatening and more comfortable for all patients, especially those who are receiving difficult diagnoses. Because of the patient-centered environment at SMOC, he is able to have quality interactions with the patients and their families and to provide information and educational resources to his patients. The greatest changes Mr. Allan has seen after more than 35 years in nursing include the rapid expansion of technology, greatly improved quality of imaging, and stunning image-guided noninvasive interventions. When he isn't working, Mr. Allan enjoys reading.

Patty, BSN, received her bachelor's of science in nursing from California State University at Fresno. She became interested in nursing because she loves to travel and meet people, and she began her career as a telemetry nurse in Roseville, CA. After a couple of years, Patty decided to cross-train as an emergency/trauma nurse and then moved to San Diego. Heightening her career as an emergency nurse, Patty started to travel through the opportunity provided by a local nursing company. In July of 2007, she was hired as a CT/body scanner nurse at Stanford Hospital and Clinics, where she was initially referred to as the "trailer nurse" because she worked with the mobile CT scanner located in a trailer. The transition from emergency to radiologic nursing was a welcomed change: "Having worked in California, Hawaii, and Boston, I had the opportunity to care for a variety of patients from different cultural backgrounds. SHC fits the international profile. I am so impressed with the high standards of patient care and diagnostic research being done in radiology." Patty is proud to be part of a superior medical facility and demonstrates professional nursing practice to all inpatients and outpatients requiring CT intervention. "I try to make the process as comfortable as possible when each patient comes in for a CT scan. I know when they leave the scan smiling or saying 'thank you,' I've accomplished a huge task, which means so much to them. I want to live up to Stanford's reputation by providing superior patient care, and I'm glad to be part of the team." Being part of a world-class Hospital has its challenges. Because the improvements in patient care occur so rapidly, there are always new protocols to learn and new patient-care techniques to implement. According to Patty, the future of radiologic nursing is moving towards more minimally invasive interventional radiologic procedures because they reduce the recovery time for patients and are cost effective. When she's not working, she loves to travel, hike, run, and spend time with her friends. Her future goal is to travel to third-world countries to set up healthcare clinics.

Cristina Cosim, BSN, RN, graduated from nursing school in the Philippines and began her nursing career in New York. Wanting to be closer to her family, she found work in 1987 at Stanford Hospital and Clinics (SHC). Cristina first worked in the E2ICU for four years and then in the Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Perioperative Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) (recovery room). Desiring a change after 21 years at Stanford, Cristina transferred to SHC Radiology in July of 2008. She has enjoyed learning a whole new set of policies and procedures that were different from those she had acquired in the recovery room and ICU, and she relishes the variety radiologic nursing provides: "There's a multitude of patient interactions on the job, and I also get to work with a great group of technologists. I've learned a lot from them, and we couldn't get the job done without them." When she's not working, Cristina enjoys movies, reading, and watching sports, including tennis, football, baseball, and, especially, golf--mainly because she is a Tiger Woods' fan.

Marietta Escalona, RN, BSN, CEN (Certified Emergency Nurse), CRN (Certified Radiologic Nurse), graduated from St. Luke's College of Nursing in Quezon City in the Philippines. Her background is in telemetry/emergency nursing. Prior to coming to Stanford in September of 2006, she worked as a staff nurse at St. Mary's Medical Center, San Francisco, in emergency nursing and at the University of California, San Francisco, (UCSF) in interventional radiology. She continues to work at UCSF, while serving at Stanford. As a radiologic nurse, Ms. Escalona finds a new challenge every day by navigating difficult issues with patients' procedures and studies as well as doing all sorts of tasks not directly related to nursing: "It makes me feel good that my patients are getting better from their illnesses, and it makes me feel great when patients, family members, and colleagues express their appreciation for my hard work on their behalf." Because of her exceptional work in nursing, she was awarded the 2008 Betty Cretekos Scholarship Award by Friends of Nursing, a nonprofit organization that promotes professional excellence in nursing practice at Stanford by providing nurses with tuition or travel scholarships to attend national professional meetings. Ms. Escalona received her award at the SHC Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony. This past March, she used the funds provided by her Betty Cretekos Scholarship to travel to the Society of Interventional Radiology Annual Conference and the Association for Radiological and Imaging Nursing Annual Conference in San Diego, California.

Diane Herscher, RN, was inspired to go into nursing by her daughter, who had cancer at the age of nine but recovered from it within two years: "It was a remarkable recovery and after experiencing all the struggles and triumphs, I chose to go into ER nursing. My daughter is now a nurse in the ER unit that I left." Ms. Herscher is from Chicago, where she has nine grandchildren, all under the age of five, and four adult children. During her career, she has also worked as a clinical director at a hospital in Alabama; served as a paramedic; and organized her own occupational healthcare agency. However, nursing remains her career of choice: "Nursing is different for me. It's important to me to make patients feel warm by doing small things that make them feel special like placing a warm blanket around their shoulders." While working as an ER nurse in Sacramento, Ms. Herscher was recruited to Stanford by Mr. Madra and has been working at Stanford since February 9, 2009: "I like Harm's leadership, so I decided to take the challenge and enter radiologic nursing, which is a whole new field for me. I enjoy the challenge of learning many new skills. The radiologic nursing staff at SHC feels like a family to me, and it's a great place to work because everyone cares about each other." When she's not working, Ms. Herscher enjoys being outdoors: hiking, water skiing, snow skiing, and boating.

Colleen Kawakami, RN, BSN, earned her bachelor's degree at the University of
California, San Francisco. Before coming to SHC, she worked in the Hematology/Oncology/ Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) clinic at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital for over 21 years. Since 2003, Ms. Kawakami has been a nurse in Radiology at SHC. What she enjoys most about radiologic nursing is getting to meet many different patients, outpatients as well as inpatients: "Because many of these patients have chronic illnesses while others are acutely ill, I try to help make their experience better. I feel that if I ever needed a procedure, I would want staff that cared about what they were doing and really wanted to help." When she's not helping patients, Ms. Kawakami likes to read and sew, as well as enjoy desserts.

Spencer Miller, RN, graduated from Florida Community College and has worked in ER nursing for 13 years, both as an avid travel nurse as well as on staff in hospitals in California, Florida, and Georgia. He has been a radiologic nurse at Stanford since February, and he enjoys radiologic nursing because he likes the technicality of procedures and the structured environment of the Radiology Department. Spencer's favorite part of being an RN is the feeling of accomplishment when someone's life is changed for the better, which he describes as "healing the sick, the second oldest profession!" The two biggest challenges he has faced in working as an RN have been the disappointing lack of a strong voice from nurses advocating for healthcare reform and the missing nurse-patient ratios in states other than California. Spencer feels that profit-driven healthcare leads to the inequitable treatment of patients. In addition to working at Stanford Radiology, he has published articles in Men in Nursing and Minority Nurse. Spencer lives in San Jose with his partner Tao, and two dogs: Teddy and BB.

Jo Miser, RN, BSN, (pictured on the left) is a native Californian who went to nursing school in New York to complete her degree. Although she had wanted to be a teacher, her aunt convinced her to become a nurse: "I think nursing has been a good thing for me. If you are very people oriented or a people person, you'll love it. I've met a lot of great people." After many years as a nurse in an operating room, ICU, and Emergency Department at Valley Medical Center, Ms. Miser needed a change. Recruited to SHC, she has worked at Stanford for over 20 years, mainly in outpatient surgery. Desiring a change, she transferred to Radiology in October of 2008, and she now works at Stanford Medicine Imaging Center (SMIC) in Palo Alto: "I've met a lot of great people here who have helped me make the transition to radiologic nursing. Some of the most challenging areas are starting IVs on patients who may not have the best venous access, but I enjoy trying to make patients feel comfortable and at ease. We have a lot of oncology patients coming back for scans, who are very apprehensive and worried. We hope for the best and try to convey that to the patient." The greatest changes Ms. Miser has seen over the course of her career are the shorter procedure and recovery times for patients: "Patients used to be admitted into the hospital for bowel surgery and prep, but now patients are doing this at home. In Radiology, we are doing a lot of procedures in CT scans such as kidney or liver biopsies, which are minimally invasive and require a shorter recovery time."

Lisa Parker, RN, has wanted to be a nurse since she was eight- or nine-years old. After working for over fourteen years as a nurse, Ms. Parker decided it was time to transfer from her job as a nurse in the oral and maxillofacial surgery unit at the University of California, San Francisco: "That's the wonderful thing about nursing. You can change jobs and go from one spectrum to the other by switching your specialty." After one and a half years at SHC as a radiologic nurse, Ms. Parker finds helping her patients through difficult situations very satisfying: "They are scared and nervous, and they often don't know what to expect. One of the joys is helping them through the process and making them feel calmer about the experience."

Rachel S. Reyes, RN, BSN, CEN, will be celebrating 11 years at Stanford in June 2009. Her career in nursing began through a friend's suggestion that Ms. Reyes volunteer at Seton Medical Center in the ER. She did, and her volunteer work helped her decide to become a nurse. After graduating from City College of San Francisco with an Associate Degree in Nursing, she was recruited to work at Kaiser. A year later, she moved to Stanford Hospital and worked on D/E Ground. Arriving at Stanford's ER eight years ago, Ms. Reyes was trained by Mr. Madra. With Stanford's Transformational Scholarship and with the flexibility of ED Management, Ms. Reyes was able to earn her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from San Francisco State University. Transferring to Radiology in January 2009, she is working with Mr. Madra once again: "I really enjoy participating in the collaborative care of our patients. I find it challenging and exciting to learn about caring for our patients in radiology, even though there is a learning curve because all the equipment and supplies are different than those in ER."

Selma Samayoa, RN, BSN, CCRN (critical care registered nurse) , completed her nursing degree at Cal State Hayward (which is now Cal State East Bay) after working as a music teacher for a number of years: "I enjoy science, biology, and physiology, so I chose nursing, thinking that I'd go back to music, but I don't teach anymore although I play the piano. I worked in the Stanford E2/ICU for over 21 years, but I hurt my back so I floated in SHC Radiology for one year to allow it to heal, and I never left." While she finds the rapid changes in radiologic technology challenging, Ms. Samayoa really enjoys working with her colleagues as a team and caring for her patients: "We do so many different types of scans that really improve patient care through noninvasive procedures. I love learning the latest techniques, and I find the new directions in radiologic nursing exciting." She still finds time for teaching, although not in the music field. Ms. Samayoa has been CCRN certified for over 28 years and holds a California Junior College Teaching Credential in Nursing. For five years, she has taught certification courses in critical care unit (CCU) nursing at Chabot College and Las Positas College. When she's not teaching or taking care of patients, Ms. Samayoa relishes playing tennis.

Dottie Sharff, RN, earned her nursing degree from City College of San Francisco and began working at Seton Medical Center. She subsequently moved to the Hawaiian Islands, where she opened up the Islands' first coronary care unit. She later worked in coronary care in Washington and Michigan and eventually came to California in 1972. After 27 years in the ER at Stanford, Ms. Sharff decided it was time for a change and transferred to Radiology in 2000: "Radiologic nursing is very different from anything else that I have done. Although there's a learning curve, once you understand the technology, it's really exciting. Noninvasive medicine is the wave of the future, and we are at the cutting-edge of these procedures." When she's not at work, she enjoys reading, gardening, traveling, and spending time at her summer home in Clearlake, California, where she boats and relaxes in the sun.

Laura Tracy, RN, was drawn to a medical career at an early age when she used to accompany her mother to Emory University, where her mother worked as a medical secretary. In high school, she joined a "Future Nurses Club" and decided to enlist in the army to complete her education. While serving as a medic at Ford Ord in Monterey, Ms. Tracy fell in love with the ocean and the California coastline. Although she had to return to Georgia to finish her education, she came back to California after completing her nursing degree and began working in the Stanford ER and trauma units in 1987. She has been working as a sexual assault nurse examiner for the County of Santa Clara for the past 13 years, and she started her own forensic business four years ago, after becoming a nationally certified forensic nurse examiner. She loves the mystery and detail of forensic medicine. For a little over one year, Ms. Tracy has worked in Radiology, which has always fascinated her. She particularly loves working at Stanford Medicine Imaging Center in Palo Alto: "I really love this particular Center because it caters to the patient by providing more opportunities to spend more time one-on-one with our patients. After working over 20 years in ER and trauma where we don't have as much time to spend with our patients, it's wonderful to be able to take the time to ask them how they are doing and feeling. It feels really good to be able to give them the extra special care they deserve, and the patients really appreciate it." Outside of work, Ms. Tracy doesn't have time for a lot of hobbies because she has two teenagers, but she does enjoy traveling. In the fall, she will be visiting the Galapagos Islands.

Lyndy Yee, RN, completed her degree and training in the United Kingdom. She began her seven-year career at Stanford working in the Pediatric ICU at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and then moved to the ER at Stanford Hospital and Clinics. Last week, she joined our Radiologic Nursing Team. Prior to coming to our Radiology Department, Ms. Yee had mainly worked with inpatients, so she is enjoying applying her skills, as well as learning new ones, in the outpatient setting. When she is not working, she enjoys hiking and camping with husband and her two sons (ages 7 and 13) as well as practicing yoga for her own rest and relaxation.