2020 AHRA Broadley Scholarship

By Eric Kallstrom, MBA, FACVP, FASE

As a recipient of this year’s AHRA Broadley Scholarship, I am very humbled as a member of the AHRA. I would like to thank the AHRA Education Foundation for receiving this award. It means so much to me both personally and professionally. I have never received a scholarship of this magnitude, and as I look towards the meaning of this award and its historical reference with all that Louise Broadley, FAHRA has contributed to our field regarding her leadership and passion for our field, its true value begins to take shape. As a leader of noninvasive imaging technologists, I aim to promote quality, education, best practice, standardization, and patient safety as a leader within my department. In order to achieve these departmental goals, my trust in continuing education is crucial for these dividends to come to fruition.

While pursuing a doctorate focused on strategic leadership skills, I am passionate about progressively advancing in leadership roles towards a director level position within a healthcare system. In the perpetually evolving field of healthcare, it is paramount that healthcare leaders, especially imaging technologists, continue to hone their skills and academic knowledge to better adapt to the needs of our patients. By earning a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership at Liberty University, I am not only empowering myself, but it is a promise to my staff that, as a leader of imaging technologists, our patients will receive unparalleled care under the direction and guidance of a leader who challenges himself from an academic perspective and understands the needs of his staff.

My past experiences as a full-time sonographer, coupled with my current role as an imaging leader within a large health system, has allowed me the opportunity to see different perspectives of our profession. My transformational leadership style has evolved over time as I strive to always work as a team while building each other up through our strengths and identifying weaknesses as opportunities to learn and grow from. I understand that technologist empowerment is crucial to our growth as professionals and as a department. My graduate work in strategic leadership, with significant help from the AHRA Broadley Scholarship, will better align my leadership skillset to provide my staff with the tools necessary to be successful in their chosen specialty, thus paying dividends in the form of better patient care. I am grateful for the opportunity that the Broadley Scholarship will provide with respect to educational resources and motivation to continue my push until completion. In these trying times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, receiving the 2020 AHRA Broadley Scholarship couldn’t have come at a better time. This scholarship not only provides value in the financial necessity to complete my graduate degree, but it is a symbol of the continuing support and commitment that the AHRA provides its membership, albeit in many different forms.

Eric Kallstrom, MBA, FACVP, FASE is the Manager of non-invasive Cardiology at Baylor Scott & White Health in Plano, TX. He can be reached at ekallstrom44138@gmail.com.