“The reason I’m so passionate about the quality of medical devices is that I’ve personally seen how they have eased or eliminated the pain of several of my close relatives, greatly improving their lives. The importance of quality in this industry cannot be underestimated! ~ Quality Engineer Linda Holmes, Elos Medtech, Memphis, USA.
Breaking Norms in Science and Technology
Linda’s passion for science is hard to miss. She has been with Elos Medtech for seven years now – but the road was anything but straightforward.
Her interest in the industry was sparked in 7th grade, when one of Linda’s teachers fought for her to be able to take metal and wood shop. In the 1970’s this was unheard of – girls took cooking and sewing classes and were forbidden from taking shop. Linda and her friends became the first girls in the school’s history to take shop classes.
Linda was also fascinated by her older brother’s drawings from his high school drafting class. To her, drafting seemed like the perfect combination of art and precision. Once she was old enough to take the class herself, she discovered that she loved it just as much as she thought she would.
Perseverence
Drafting planted the seed of her future career in the medical device industry. Linda’s drafting instructor selected her to receive a scholarship to further her education at the local community college. Linda hadn’t intended to continue her education, as she needed to work full-time to pay her bills. But rather than relinquish the scholarship, she went on to work full-time and go to school in the evenings.
After receiving her Associate Degree, Linda continued to take occasional night classes, constantly working towards her Bachelor’s Degree while trying to manage full-time work and raising kids.
“My co-workers encouraged me to enroll in a weekend engineering program, which I did. I received my Bachelor’s Degree during the year that I turned 50! It took a while at my snail’s pace, but I eventually achieved my goal.”
While attending college, a classmate recognized Linda’s analytical thinking and her appreciation for precision and accuracy, and encouraged her to pursue a career in Medical Devices and Quality, which she did. This also fulfilled her desire to help others.
“I was surprised to learn how fascinated I was with the anatomy and physiology class that I took to help me better understand medical devices”, says Linda. “I was equally intrigued by cadaver labs. My machining classes taught me to appreciate some of the challenges faced by machinists. What I learned there confirmed that the medical device industry was a good match for me.”
Trusting the Process
As Quality Engineer, Linda uses the Engineering Review process to determine the root cause of non-conforming product to prevent reoccurrences and to reduce scrap (non-conforming Medical Devices that cannot be repaired through rework). She determines the optimum rework method while keeping various considerations in mind.
In her daily work, she teaches her co-workers the Engineering Review process, provides Print Reading training to new employees during orientation classes, creates and modifies SOP’s, etc. There’s a lot of variety in the role – and that’s what she likes about it.
Says Linda, “Priorities shift frequently. For example, I may need to shift my attention to resolve a hold on a work order, allowing shipment of the product. I enjoy learning and I enjoy understanding the connection between departments.”
Linda’s Path to Success
Linda has spent the past 34 years contributing to the design and quality of medical devices. She never really had a vision of her career – it sort of just evolved by her making decisions based on her interests and preferences along the way, which altered her path forward.
A ‘Career highlight’ is not a singular event for me. It’s the sense of satisfaction I get knowing that I have an impact on improving the lives of others by providing quality medical devices for patients and surgeons.”
A true analyst, Linda thoroughly enjoys the psychological aspects of understanding root causes. She always tries to understand and evaluate if errors are made due to unclear wording on the work order, training deficiencies or perhaps workspace and morale. She believes that processes are typically the root cause of issues – not people – which is why she’s constantly working to determine which processes can be modified to help improve product quality.
It’s a never-ending endeavor since there are constantly new employees, new systems, new products and new assets to investigate. But even minor improvements can help improve the process, allowing patients to get the quality products they need in a timely manner so that their lives can be improved sooner than later.
Linda has had various roles as Drafter, Designer, Engineering Technician, Design Control Specialist, Supervisor, Supplier Quality Engineering, Process Engineer, and Quality Engineering. She plans to continue to utilize her decades of skills and knowledge.
“I’ll continue to find ways to provide patients with quality medical devices in a timely manner,” Linda confirms.
Male Dominance in the Industry
Linda was usually the only female in her industry-related classes. There were not many women in the industry at that time. Most of the people who inspired her path were men. Reflecting on decades of working in a typically male-dominated industry, Linda does acknowledge that the situation has improved over the years:
“Reinhold Niebuhr, author of “The Serenity Prayer,” which was later quoted by Winnifred Wygal, American YWCA official, states it best: “…accept the things I cannot change, change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Women need to speak up, find their voice. If you notice something that doesn’t seem equitable, ask for the policy to be modified. Policies have historically been made by men without input from women. For example, women who work outside of the home are often also caregivers and therefore have unique challenges affecting their work-life balance. Speak up to expand policies that will help you maintain a career and a family simultaneously. You are your own best advocate.”
This is also the advice she wants to instill in young women and girls dreaming of pursuing a career in science and technology:
“Go for it! Don’t worry about being outnumbered by men. Most men are supportive. Navigate around roadblocks. (It’s like Groundhog Day…Learn from yesterday: If plan A didn’t work, move to plan B. Don’t run out of plans). Women often seem to excel at collaboration and empathy, both of which the industry needs. Persevere!”
Want to join the Elos Medtech team? Learn more about our opportunities here: https://elosmedtech.com/careers/
