Tara Logan always wanted to be in health care but didn’t think she had what it took to be on the clinical side.

“The start of my journey to mammography was at the front desk of a general surgery office, making appointments and collecting copays,” she said. “That is where I saw the world of mammography for the first time. One of the doctors in my office was a breast surgeon. Every day he worked with breast cancer patients, and I will never forget how he made them feel.

“When people are going through some of the toughest days of their lives, they need someone to lean on, and I wanted to be that person for them. I wanted to be the stranger that knew nothing about their life but had all the time in the world to lend an open ear.  He was the push I needed to realize that I belonged in direct contact with patients.”

The program is a short and sweet experience that I am so lucky to have been a part of.

Tara Logan

Logan investigated the Radiography program at College of DuPage and worked on completing all the necessary requirements for acceptance into it.

“Radiology is such an interesting field. There are so many choices that come with imaging the human body, but mammography was my calling,” she said. “I wanted to help females on a very personal level. The courage a woman must have to take time out of her busy life and complete a cancer screening exam is the only reason I need to show up to work for the day. A mammogram is completely elective, so there is no better feeling than being a pa rt of someone’s day because they chose to put their health first.”

After earning her Associate in Applied Science in Radiography, Logan completed the Mammography advanced certificate at COD, a one-semester program that prepared her for a long career in breast imaging.

“The program is a short and sweet experience that I am so lucky to have been a part of,” she said. “College of DuPage now has two mammography units to practice with your classmates. Not only will you learn all the correct positioning skills, but they also have multiple clinical sites that allow you to learn on actual patients. While in class, you will also learn the importance of the quality control that goes into the mammography units.”

Logan finished her master’s degree in Health Care Administration and is now a mammography department coordinator.

“I hold a relationship between the radiologists and mammographers by posting their pathology from biopsies and reading their dictations to make sure there are no errors,” she said.

Logan is glad she turned to COD and urges other students interested in imaging to consider the Mammography program.

“Cancer screening is something that will always be needed, and your patients will always need you,” she said. “Apply to the College of DuPage Mammography program and start making a difference in the way females feel about health care. My degree from COD has taken me so far!”

Learn more about the Mammography program at College of DuPage