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First Health Advisory Security Project Manager Emily Mengel holds a Bachelor’s of Science in biological engineering from Mississippi State University and a masters in biomedical engineering jointly from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has also earned A+ and Network+ certifications. TechNation recently found out more about Mengel.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: Trussville, Alabama (just outside of Birmingham)
Q: Where did you receive your HTM training/education?
A: After receiving my master’s degree in biomedical engineering, my first HTM job was at Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin, Georgia, as a biomedical engineer. There my supervisor and co-workers taught me the basics of the HTM industry, networking, medical device security and much more. It was a very hands-on job, and the experience laid the foundation for me.
Q: How did you first discover HTM?
A: I learned about HTM from graduates of my graduate program who had gone to work at the VA. They both really enjoyed the HTM field, and after speaking to them I decided to apply to VA jobs across the country.
Q: Why did you choose to get into this field?
A: I’ve wanted to work in health care for as long as I can remember. My grandfather is a retired family practitioner. My parents are both engineers and instilled a love of problem solving at a young age. When it came time to choosing a major, I couldn’t choose between health care and engineering. That’s how I ended up in biomedical engineering and choosing a career in HTM.
Q: What do you like most about your position?
A: I enjoy getting to work with clients across the country and seeing how HTM practices are being implemented at different facilities. I also love advising clients on current best practices surrounding asset management and how to leverage their software to meet their process improvement goals.
Q: What interests you the most about HTM?
A: I enjoy studying data and analytics and understanding communication pathways. Medical device integration, cybersecurity and data analysis guiding process improvement are my favorite areas of HTM. I think data can truly help you improve and shows the true picture of what’s going on. As one former supervisor used to say, “Data doesn’t lie.”
Q: What has been your greatest accomplishment in your field thus far?
A: Being recognized as a 2022 Health Care Leadership Award recipient was truly an honor. It is my goal to show young girls that they can be engineers and make an impact in their communities even behind the scenes of a hospital.
Q: What goals do you have for yourself in the next 5 years?
A: I want to complete my PMP coursework and exam to become a certified project manager and continue growing my knowledge of medical device security through certifications.
FUN FACTS
Favorite Hobby:
Crafting with my Cricut and Cricut press
Favorite Show or Movie:
“Parks and Recreation”
Favorite Meal:
Chicken parmigiana
What would your superpower be?
Teleportation
1 Thing on Your Bucket List:
Travel to all 50 states by the time I am 50 (I’m currently at 30 states)
Something your co-workers don’t know about you:
I collect playing cards.
