In a 47-year career as a radiographer and medical radiation technologist, Ms Oliver reckons there is not a part of the human body she has not scanned, and she has scanned three generations of some families.
"It’s not just putting the patient in the machine and pushing a button," Ms Oliver said.
"It depends what you are scanning, how you position the patients and how you prepare the patient — some will be in there for quarter of an hour, while some will be in for two hours.
"Some patients just walk in the room and lie down no trouble at all. Other patients you have to struggle to actually get them in the door. There’s a wide range between that and you have to try and gauge each patient."
Ms Oliver (65) trained as a radiographer at Dunedin Hospital in 1971. Apart from a year overseas, she has worked there ever since.
In addition to holding management positions, Ms Oliver has also trained, examined and registered hundreds of technologists.
"I think training is so important, because radiology is changing all the time and you’re never going to know everything about it," she said.
"If you can help people learn how to do their job better, that means the patient has a better experience."
In 1990 Ms Oliver was the first New Zealander to become a registered MRI technician; in 2016 she was presented the inaugural New Zealand Institute of Medical Radiation Technology Achievement Award.
Ms Oliver said a scan found nothing as often as it found something — the job was about finding information.
"It’s still not an easy examination for a patient ... but we are helping people to understand what is going on."
Ms Oliver leaves the MRI suite at a difficult time. Leaks and asbestos issues in the building, and problems securing qualified staff, recently resulted in the department losing its accreditation — something the Southern District Health Board has vowed to correct.
"There have been lots of things that have happened to us working in this building, and I do believe that if the clinical services block was the administration block it would have been shut down.
"It’s not easy providing a service in this environment ... We’ve had leaks in the roof and drips down the walls, but we still don’t stop providing a service to the patients."
While staying on until a new hospital — and a new MRI suite — was built was tempting, it was time to let someone else have a go, Ms Oliver said.
"I wanted to leave while I was still fit and healthy and have the energy to do other things. I enjoy the great outdoors and while I have a few body parts which aren’t worn out, I want to enjoy things like skiing."
