Gerard is The Difference – influencing one team, caring for hundreds.
At Texas Children’s Hospital North Austin Campus, Gerard Wilson is building the team he will helm as Assistant Director of Radiology. The former military radiology tech struggled at first to move to leadership from the bedside, where he felt his passion lay.
Gerard’s wife convinced him to see things a little differently. “As a tech, you can only influence one person at a time,” she told him. “As a leader, you develop a team that can take care of hundreds and thousands of patients.”
The choice was clear
Though Gerard needed a little encouragement to make the leap to leadership, he always pictured himself in healthcare. An only child from St. Louis, he comes from a family of nurses and dentists.
Gerard’s mother fell ill when he was 14. She received the care she needed from the best hospital in St. Louis, even though they were a family on Medicaid. The level of compassion shown had a lasting impact on him.
“Health care is the only thing I ever wanted to do,” he recalls.
Gerard intended to become a nurse when he entered the armed services, but his commander came to him with a choice: Train in a yearlong program to be an X-ray tech or go to Afghanistan in eight months. Gerard seized the opportunity and began his career in radiology.
Learn it, lead it
By the time he finished school, Gerard had been in the military for eight years. He was tapped to take the skill he had just learned and lead it.
“I have a servant heart,” he reflects. “That’s why I joined the military. I’m in health care because I want to give. I coach because that’s what fuels me.”
At Texas Children’s, Gerard marries his leadership experiences with his desire to serve. Knowing first-hand what it means to families, he coaches his team to lead with compassion above all.
“Texas Children’s is an organization that has high expectations for their employees, but they pour equally into their employees to get them there.”
A “big, bubbly person,” with a strong sense of purpose, Gerard wants the people who join his team in Austin to be authentically who they are, and he’s excited for the impact Texas Children’s will have in his community.
“When one of the top children’s hospital in the country moves in, it’s a no-brainer,” he says as a grin spreads from ear to ear. “It’s going to make everyone better.”
Are you a big thinker with a servant heart? Discover a career at Texas Children’s and join Gerard in claiming “I am the Difference.” Start your search at TexasChildrensPeople.org.
