Claire Walker, National Digital Autopsy Services Manager at iGene, is now entering her third year working for our organisation. A valued member of staff, Claire is passionate about our services and her commitment to Digital Autopsy is apparent. Overseeing our full team of iGene Radiologists, who study our scanned images and produce reports, Claire is also a fully qualified Radiographer, scanning the deceased to try and establish cause of death.
Alongside her work for iGene, Claire is hugely privileged to have been offered the post of Honorary Lecturer on the PgC/MSc programme in Forensic Radiography at Teeside University. For Claire, this means she will be at the forefront of teaching forensic radiographers of the future. Please see Claire’s interview below for more information on this exceptional achievement:
How did Teeside discover your work?
I met one of the programme leaders at Teeside University, at a forensic conference and invited her to our Sheffield facility to experience first hand the work that iGene undertake. She brought the president of the Society of Radiographers and they were both impressed with the work being performed at iGene.
What is the Honorary Lecture in recognition of?
It is in recognition of iGene’s work in changing the way sudden adult death is investigated in the UK but it is also in recognition for my work in promoting the role of radiographers in forensics.
How often will you lecture at Teeside?
My part of the programme will run from January to May.
Where does your love of Radiography originate and what is your motivation for working for iGene?
I originally became a radiographer as I spent rather a lot of time in x-ray with my son who was something of a ‘stunt’ child! I thought it looked a really interesting job. I retrained for 3 years to gain my BSc Diagnostic Radiography degree and worked as a radiographer in the NHS for 6 years. I really like people and this is an essential part of being a good radiographer – you have to care for the people you are treating at a very vulnerable time, when they are injured and in pain or frightened. I miss my patients, but I still care about the people we scan at iGene, and their families.
Finally could you briefly outline some of your duties as National Services Manager, at iGene?
We are an evolving service and part of my job is to respond and effect the changes to the service. On a daily basis I have to make sure the service operates smoothly; one of the main ways of achieving this is to have really good people in the team, and here at iGene we have great radiographers and radiologists who share the iGene’s vision. Sometimes I actually get to be a radiographer again and carry out a scan and I really enjoy these times. It has changed so much in the last two plus years that I have been here and it will change again. When I am old I will be able to look back and think ‘I was part of changing history, I developed that service protocol’. I’m really lucky, not many people get to do that.
Claire will also lecture third year Radiography students at the University of Birmingham.
