Melissa McKirdie, who started teaching full time at COD in 2012, didn’t start her career in medical imaging. After earning a degree in Therapeutic Recreation, she spent six years in a variety of roles— including applied behavior analyst, adapted physical education instructor and home trainer—at Little Friends, a therapeutic day school and center for children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
It was during her own pregnancies that McKirdie developed an interest in sonography. She was amazed and comforted by the skill of the sonographers and how the ultrasounds reported on the developing baby. That interest grew while she took a few years off to raise her children, and she began to research a new career.
“I felt excited with everything I found out about it: caring for patients, helping doctors and doing something where I wasn’t stuck behind a desk—all within a career that, due to technological and medical advances, makes you a lifelong learner,” she said.
After completing certificates in Diagnostic Medical Imaging Sonography (Ultrasound) and Diagnostic Medical Vascular Sonography at COD, McKirdie gained experience in a clinic specializing in reproductive endocrinology and at AMITA Health St. Joseph Medical Center Joliet. She performed abdomen, superficial structure, obstetrics, gynecology and vascular ultrasounds as well as assisted with procedures such as thoracentesis, paracentesis and biopsy.
Contact McKirdie at mckirdiem@cod.edu or (630) 942-3608.
I get to noninvasively look inside the human body and obtain information that helps radiologists determine if there is a pathological process taking place, which allows them to provide a diagnosis, recommend a next step or see if a patient’s treatment is working.
- Melissa McKirdie, Assistant Professor, Diagnostic Medical Imaging
Areas of Expertise
- Diagnostic Medical Imaging
- Sonography/Ultrasound
- Obstetric/Gynecology
- Abdominal and superficial structures
- Vascular
- Sonography/Ultrasound