Written by Emma Avila, epackard1@iuhealth.org, writer for IU Health’s Indianapolis Suburban Region

Because of his time working at IU Health North, Austin Dale is now pursuing a long-term career in healthcare.

Austin Dale began working at IU Health North in January 2020. He started on the patient transportation team, helping patients move from one area to another.

“Typically, when a patient needs to go to a test, imaging scan or they need to transfer from one room to another, nurses don’t always have time to move the patients themselves. We also help with discharges,” he explained. “I was looking for something that would bring me into an entry level position while providing some areas where I could expand.”

After working in a hospital environment, Dale decided to pursue a career in healthcare. He began taking nursing classes, but eventually decided to go into radiography. He is currently taking classes at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

“I realized after working with a lot of patients that I enjoyed making a difference,” he said. “The need for radiology techs is really big right now.”

Now, Dale is a student intern for the IU Health North imaging department a few days a week while still working in patient transportation a few days as well.

“The [patient transport] team encouraged me to pursue radiography for some time,” he said. “I already knew everyone there so that was really helpful too.”

He feels thankful for the opportunities and connections the hospital has provided.

“I’m really grateful to so much of the staff. They are a really good team overall.”