WAR Story – Rana Helou

Name and how long you have been in the industry

My name is Rana Helou and I have been in the healthcare technology management field a biomed tech for 11 years. My journey began as an undergraduate student discovering the biomedical field as an inventory specialist and as the days grew, I grew to love what I do with passion and worked my way up to an assistant director.

How did you get into the industry? Anything that drew you in?

As an only child I had to mature very quickly and be a helping hand to my family, yet I still enjoyed life. Both parents worked multiple jobs to help make ends meet and provide the best education and lifestyle for me. Watching both parents overcome many obstacles in life allowed me to grow into “any job you choose to love to work in regardless of what the obstacles are, that job will love you back and allow you to bloom in different gardens”. Visiting my own mother when she was not feeling well made me want to do the impossible to help her feel better, and the only thing my eyes kept looking at was an infusion pump giving medications, and my brain kept thinking “well how does this work?” This curiosity led to asking questions inside the hospital and meeting a biomed tech. From there the journey of HTM started for me where I want to help everyone and anyone feel better, yet work in silence, which lead to being an” unsung hero.”

What roadblocks did you have to overcome?

There were days where challenges arose, but to overcome them I would take a walk to ICU, down the hallways, until I reached ER to see what each person was facing and knew how blessed I was. This blessing motivated me more to not give up, and want to help those that were in the facility facing health issues get the help needed by providing my services. Every person in every room had a different story, and when I thought my story of a challenge was a crisis it turned out to be a blessing. There were days when my brain was like a web browser with a couple of pages opened and everything was loading at once. And there were other days that challenges happened when responding onsite to medical equipment issues, and it was the customers shock that I was a female. With an open mind and heart, I was accepted with the goal of giving the best quality of work and communication, and changing the customers perspective in understanding what we do as HTM, in addition to how a female can also exceed the expectations.

What do you feel makes a great leader in this industry?

A great leader is someone humble enough to never forget how they began and help those that want to grow and reach success without major struggles. What you except for yourself except for others, and what you do not except for yourself do not except for others. When you lend a hand in helping someone succeed it’s also your success. Make history in someone’s life and that person will make you history to the leaders that follow.

What advice to you have for the other women in HTM?

For those females that are in the HTM field my advice to you would be fix your crown and get your day started with goals that no one can stop in any way, shape, or form. Surround yourself with those that help one another, positively, and those that can help you expand success by being united in helping to put the pieces of the puzzle together. You will always face challenges no matter what your title is, where you work, who you are, and what you do. But allow your open mind and heart to accept, smile, and allow your work to shine to represent what not many others can.