The listening agent: ashley aiken, md
By Sam Marie Engle

Listen!
That's the superpower Ashley Aiken will wield as Emory Radiology's new vice chair for engagement and outreach.
“I really care about fostering a workplace culture that is fair, equitable and open,” she says. “Our culture has to be people-centered, and that means everyone, not just faculty and not just patients. We are experiencing challenging times, so the key to my work is listening: listening to needs and concerns and also listening to ideas for solutions.”
Dr. Aiken’s position is newly created and timely. “We have been trending toward this place—a flexible and diverse workplace—but we have a lot of challenges. How do we engage everyone when we have people working remotely and in person? How do we move forward when we have different goals, different needs, different perspectives, and new financial pressures?”
Several departmental programs already address aspects of engagement and now will benefit from Dr. Aiken’s leadership: the Wellness Committee; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee: the Faculty Committee on Promotion and Advancement; Faculty and Staff Development, including the Radiology Leadership Academy and the Faculty and Staff Awards programs; and the Radiology Global Health Initiative now are part of Dr. Aiken's portfolio.
“This is not just a faculty affairs position,” Dr. Aiken emphasizes. “I want to ensure all these wonderful programs benefit from faculty and staff leadership and participation from across the entire department.”
That's the superpower Ashley Aiken will wield as Emory Radiology's new vice chair for engagement and outreach.
“I really care about fostering a workplace culture that is fair, equitable and open,” she says. “Our culture has to be people-centered, and that means everyone, not just faculty and not just patients. We are experiencing challenging times, so the key to my work is listening: listening to needs and concerns and also listening to ideas for solutions.”
Dr. Aiken’s position is newly created and timely. “We have been trending toward this place—a flexible and diverse workplace—but we have a lot of challenges. How do we engage everyone when we have people working remotely and in person? How do we move forward when we have different goals, different needs, different perspectives, and new financial pressures?”
Several departmental programs already address aspects of engagement and now will benefit from Dr. Aiken’s leadership: the Wellness Committee; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee: the Faculty Committee on Promotion and Advancement; Faculty and Staff Development, including the Radiology Leadership Academy and the Faculty and Staff Awards programs; and the Radiology Global Health Initiative now are part of Dr. Aiken's portfolio.
“This is not just a faculty affairs position,” Dr. Aiken emphasizes. “I want to ensure all these wonderful programs benefit from faculty and staff leadership and participation from across the entire department.”
The Path to the Present
The Georgia native joined the Emory Radiology faculty in 2009 after completing diagnostic radiology residency and a neuroradiology fellowship at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). She was a change agent from the start.
“I’ve been an informal leader for faculty well-being and workplace culture since I arrived at Emory. Early in my career, I was advised to find a reason other than family for why I couldn’t attend something. I decided in that moment that I would honestly share with trusted colleagues and found that others also valued a culture of vulnerability and open communication. I’m happy to say things have changed a lot since then, and there’s the opportunity for more.”
Dr. Aiken has leveraged formal leadership positions to achieve change for learners: first as the associate program director of the Diagnostic Radiology Residency and then as director of the Neuroradiology Fellowship program.
“Every year I ask fellows for ideas for improving the fellowship program. They have great ideas, and we take the time to listen. We created more academic time for them to do research, to present at conferences. We created more flexible schedules to give them better work-life balance. By listening and acting on their suggestions, our program now attracts more candidates and better candidates.”
She acknowledges this new role is bigger and the best ways to listen will vary, depending on the issue and the stakeholders. For a self-identified problem solver, “The challenge will be to pause and listen and understand rather than rush a fix. The name of the game will be patience.”
From Patience to Patients
Dr. Aiken's other focus is clinical work. She leads the Head and Neck Imaging team, which is embedded in the Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Clinic based at Emory University Hospital Midtown. She and the team perform both diagnostic imaging and image-guided procedures especially for cancers of the head and neck. Their novel collaborative approach to head and neck imaging with its emphasis on patient-centered care is a best practice model lauded by the American College of Radiology.
To say Dr. Aiken enjoys neuroradiology misses the passion. “I love neuroradiology!” she exclaims. “I love everything about it, and I absolutely love the multidisciplinary collaborative clinic. I enjoy working directly with patients as part of their care team.”
She also values the opportunities in academic medicine to impact the quality of patient care in a larger, systematic way. Dr. Aiken is the founding member and served as chair of the American College of Radiology Standards Committee, which created the Neck Imaging Reporting and Data System, or NI-RADS to standardize the way neck masses are described and stratified by risk.
“I had twins who spent a good bit of time in the NICU, so I understand how confusing and overwhelming it is for patients to deal with a scary diagnosis like head and neck cancer, which is compounded with mixed messages resulted from unclear communication. That’s why I’m really passionate about standardization of communication and care,” she says.
Mentors Matter
Dr. Akin's twins now are high school juniors, and both aspire to be doctors like their mother. Dr. Aiken credits their aspirations to the power of role models and mentors.
“Mentors and roles models are so important. My girls still talk about the Emory Women in Radiology Symposium they attended with me several years ago. The event was aimed at medical students, but I wanted my girls to benefit, too. You never know who will inspire which girl or which student or even which junior faculty member. When I was at UCSF, I thought two women faculty members were the most brilliant and balanced people I’d ever met. They were neuroradiologists specializing in head and neck imaging, and I wanted to be just like them. They opened the world of head and neck imaging to me. We have to create pipelines for people, not just our junior faculty, but also residents, fellows, medical students, and even undergrads.”
There’s another reason why her daughters want to be doctors, Dr. Aiken says. “I’ve always worried about how I could be a good mom and a good doctor. People told me I couldn’t have it all. Yes, there were hard choices and opportunities I let pass because they didn’t fit with my commitment to family, but the fact that my girls and my son don’t see me as absentee mom is ... I must have done something right showing them they can have a family and still be a good doctor.”
For the People
Dr. Aiken wants to ensure the systems and supports that helped her have such positive work-life balance are there for all members of the department. “My family is my biggest recharge for me. All I think about in terms of work-life balance is spending more time with them,” she says.
“When I came to Emory, I was really promoting the ability to work from home for my academic time. That wasn’t usual or standard, but they gave me that flexibility and then saw me be effective. At the same time, that option wasn’t available for the administrative support team members. Thanks to the pandemic, we’ve seen a big change in that, which is great, and we need to keep that flexibility balanced with accountability. Now we need to create more opportunities for engaging colleagues and trainees while caring for patients in this new remote and hybrid environment. A key principle will be promoting autonomy and choice by understanding what motivates our people to their individual best and the best for our community.”
Dr. Aiken returns to the importance of patience for moving ahead. “Interpersonal conversations are difficult but essential. Shared decision making and open conversation are key to getting us where we want to go. Creating the milieu for an idea meritocracy where the best ideas win out, where there’s space for people to have mini-think tanks and share ideas, takes time. I’m confident that when we look back a year from now, we’ll be impressed with our progress.”
That’s why she says her slogan for 2023 is “Patience in all things, including myself. When you’re patient with yourself it allows you to be patient with others.”
A corollary for Dr. Aiken is gratitude. “It’s something we all talk about being is good for us, but we don’t always practice it. When I actively practice gratitude, I function better. Am I perfect at it? No. But I’m always trying. Even a minute of meditation with a focus on gratitude helps me be more effective during my day.”
More effective and more in tune with her heart. “I’m an I on DiSC®[1], so my heart is with people. What people remember about you is how you made them feel. Did you make them feel better? Did you give them opportunities to be involved and feel heard and valued? I keep that top of mind. That’s why I love being fellowship director. It’s the people right next to you that you’re impacting. It doesn’t matter about being on the billboard or in the spotlight; what matters are the people right in your immediate orbit.”
For Dr. Aiken, her orbit now includes all 1,000+ members of the Emory Radiology and Imaging Sciences team.
[1] DiSC® is a personal assessment tool used to help people understand themselves and others in the workplace. The acronym stands for the four main personality profiles of the DiSC model: (D)ominance, (i)nfluence, (S)teadiness, and (C)onscientiousness. Learn more at https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc.
The Georgia native joined the Emory Radiology faculty in 2009 after completing diagnostic radiology residency and a neuroradiology fellowship at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). She was a change agent from the start.
“I’ve been an informal leader for faculty well-being and workplace culture since I arrived at Emory. Early in my career, I was advised to find a reason other than family for why I couldn’t attend something. I decided in that moment that I would honestly share with trusted colleagues and found that others also valued a culture of vulnerability and open communication. I’m happy to say things have changed a lot since then, and there’s the opportunity for more.”
Dr. Aiken has leveraged formal leadership positions to achieve change for learners: first as the associate program director of the Diagnostic Radiology Residency and then as director of the Neuroradiology Fellowship program.
“Every year I ask fellows for ideas for improving the fellowship program. They have great ideas, and we take the time to listen. We created more academic time for them to do research, to present at conferences. We created more flexible schedules to give them better work-life balance. By listening and acting on their suggestions, our program now attracts more candidates and better candidates.”
She acknowledges this new role is bigger and the best ways to listen will vary, depending on the issue and the stakeholders. For a self-identified problem solver, “The challenge will be to pause and listen and understand rather than rush a fix. The name of the game will be patience.”
From Patience to Patients
Dr. Aiken's other focus is clinical work. She leads the Head and Neck Imaging team, which is embedded in the Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Clinic based at Emory University Hospital Midtown. She and the team perform both diagnostic imaging and image-guided procedures especially for cancers of the head and neck. Their novel collaborative approach to head and neck imaging with its emphasis on patient-centered care is a best practice model lauded by the American College of Radiology.
To say Dr. Aiken enjoys neuroradiology misses the passion. “I love neuroradiology!” she exclaims. “I love everything about it, and I absolutely love the multidisciplinary collaborative clinic. I enjoy working directly with patients as part of their care team.”
She also values the opportunities in academic medicine to impact the quality of patient care in a larger, systematic way. Dr. Aiken is the founding member and served as chair of the American College of Radiology Standards Committee, which created the Neck Imaging Reporting and Data System, or NI-RADS to standardize the way neck masses are described and stratified by risk.
“I had twins who spent a good bit of time in the NICU, so I understand how confusing and overwhelming it is for patients to deal with a scary diagnosis like head and neck cancer, which is compounded with mixed messages resulted from unclear communication. That’s why I’m really passionate about standardization of communication and care,” she says.
Mentors Matter
Dr. Akin's twins now are high school juniors, and both aspire to be doctors like their mother. Dr. Aiken credits their aspirations to the power of role models and mentors.
“Mentors and roles models are so important. My girls still talk about the Emory Women in Radiology Symposium they attended with me several years ago. The event was aimed at medical students, but I wanted my girls to benefit, too. You never know who will inspire which girl or which student or even which junior faculty member. When I was at UCSF, I thought two women faculty members were the most brilliant and balanced people I’d ever met. They were neuroradiologists specializing in head and neck imaging, and I wanted to be just like them. They opened the world of head and neck imaging to me. We have to create pipelines for people, not just our junior faculty, but also residents, fellows, medical students, and even undergrads.”
There’s another reason why her daughters want to be doctors, Dr. Aiken says. “I’ve always worried about how I could be a good mom and a good doctor. People told me I couldn’t have it all. Yes, there were hard choices and opportunities I let pass because they didn’t fit with my commitment to family, but the fact that my girls and my son don’t see me as absentee mom is ... I must have done something right showing them they can have a family and still be a good doctor.”
For the People
Dr. Aiken wants to ensure the systems and supports that helped her have such positive work-life balance are there for all members of the department. “My family is my biggest recharge for me. All I think about in terms of work-life balance is spending more time with them,” she says.
“When I came to Emory, I was really promoting the ability to work from home for my academic time. That wasn’t usual or standard, but they gave me that flexibility and then saw me be effective. At the same time, that option wasn’t available for the administrative support team members. Thanks to the pandemic, we’ve seen a big change in that, which is great, and we need to keep that flexibility balanced with accountability. Now we need to create more opportunities for engaging colleagues and trainees while caring for patients in this new remote and hybrid environment. A key principle will be promoting autonomy and choice by understanding what motivates our people to their individual best and the best for our community.”
Dr. Aiken returns to the importance of patience for moving ahead. “Interpersonal conversations are difficult but essential. Shared decision making and open conversation are key to getting us where we want to go. Creating the milieu for an idea meritocracy where the best ideas win out, where there’s space for people to have mini-think tanks and share ideas, takes time. I’m confident that when we look back a year from now, we’ll be impressed with our progress.”
That’s why she says her slogan for 2023 is “Patience in all things, including myself. When you’re patient with yourself it allows you to be patient with others.”
A corollary for Dr. Aiken is gratitude. “It’s something we all talk about being is good for us, but we don’t always practice it. When I actively practice gratitude, I function better. Am I perfect at it? No. But I’m always trying. Even a minute of meditation with a focus on gratitude helps me be more effective during my day.”
More effective and more in tune with her heart. “I’m an I on DiSC®[1], so my heart is with people. What people remember about you is how you made them feel. Did you make them feel better? Did you give them opportunities to be involved and feel heard and valued? I keep that top of mind. That’s why I love being fellowship director. It’s the people right next to you that you’re impacting. It doesn’t matter about being on the billboard or in the spotlight; what matters are the people right in your immediate orbit.”
For Dr. Aiken, her orbit now includes all 1,000+ members of the Emory Radiology and Imaging Sciences team.
[1] DiSC® is a personal assessment tool used to help people understand themselves and others in the workplace. The acronym stands for the four main personality profiles of the DiSC model: (D)ominance, (i)nfluence, (S)teadiness, and (C)onscientiousness. Learn more at https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc.