Spotlight - Nagham Rida - Sonographer

Nagham Rida, RDMS started as a sonographer on the Memorial Campus in September, 2016. She graduated from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) with a Bachelor of Science in Sonography, General Ultrasound. She was accepted into the three year accelerated program which runs year around. The first year includes basic courses, the second year was ultrasound classes and labs, the third and last year was strictly hospital clinicals with classes on Mondays. Nagham rotated through several hospitals and started an internship at UMass Memorial during her second semester, beginning with breast ultrasound at the ACC and then general ultrasound on the Memorial Campus. Nagham says her "UMass clinical was by far the best, I was hands on day one and everyone was patient and made it a point to make sure I learned and answered any questions I had."
 
Naggie says what attracted her to UMASS is the team of sonographers in both departments. Its easy to find a place to work but its not easy to find a good group of people to work with. Everyone here in general ultrasound and mammo are amazing and willing to go the extra mile to make sure she understands everything. She says "as a student the only thing I focused on was scanning but now that I'm hired, it's a lot more behind the scenes and they have been so patient and have answered anything I need no matter what hour it is. I can't stress enough to say everyone here works together to make sure things run in a smooth and efficient manner. I consider myself lucky to be a part of such a good group of co-workers who hold it down in both departments."
 
Nagham's personal interests include hanging out with her family, going out to eat and movies. She loves to walk when its nice out. She graduated from North Providence High School in Rhode Island and I still lives there but hopes to get a house in Massachusetts next year.
 
Nagham continues by stating how grateful she is for her mom who raised her and 3 other kids by herself. Her mom immigrated to the United States from Syria with her dad, Nagham and a brother in 1995. She says "my dad passed away in 2001 and it did not stop my mom or make her go back to Syria, she continued to hold it down for us and has provided for me financially with the ability to go to school. Without her I would have never gotten a degree and I am forever in her debt. I am the first in the family to graduate college and I set an example for my three younger siblings. With everything going on with the war in Syria I can't help but feel lucky, my mom could have gone back to her home and her family but instead she sacrificed her time for us. It makes me look at the world in a different way and be appreciative of everything in my life. I would be in a war zone but because of my strong mother I am here at one of the best hospitals and I am indeed lucky for that. Its my job now to not only provide the best patient care but to not let my team down as well."