to prove their tenacity. Unfortunately, this is not possible for everyone and may cause others to feel that there is no place for them in the field.


While there are functions one must be able to perform to practice IR, there is also a range of disabilities that may simply require accommodations. The provision of reasonable work accommodations is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).9 However, people with disabilities still often face discrimination and disparities.3,11


The experience can be


isolating and we should be willing to support and include these members of our community. For example, we could create forums in our professional societies and events for these member to connect, much like we have for other groups. We could


Practice profiles By Raj Pyne, MD, FSIR Rochester Radiology Associates, N.Y. R


ochester Radiology Associates (RRA) is a private combined DR and IR practice located in upstate Rochester,


New York. RRA is composed of 24 DRs, seven IRs and four full-time physician assistants in a democratic practice covering the entire Rochester Regional Health System, including its flagship location Rochester General Hospital. We cover IR services fully at one other hospital and get IR referrals from smaller hospitals in our system, while our DR services cover four hospitals and numerous outpatient imaging centers.


In our practice, we combine the world of a traditional private practice radiology group with many features of an academic IR service. Our group has run a diagnostic radiology residency and we have recently started an IR residency (including Integrated, Independent and ESIR tracks). RRA is a unique practice that straddles two different worlds, which as a result offers unique challenges.


18 IRQ | FALL 2020


Operations The current iteration of our IR service started in 2000 when Jonathan Broder, MD, was hired out of his IR fellowship at Albany Medical Center. After growing the service from performing basic lines and biopsies to performing much more complex angiographies and interventions, he was joined by Atul Gupta, MD, in 2004. By 2009, they had created a busy interventional service but still had to take IR call or backup IR call every other night to support the three neuroradiologists who were also part of the IR call pool.


To continue the growth of the IR division, I was hired in 2009 directly out of my fellowship, followed by Michael Rivero, MD, in 2010. In the span of a year we doubled our IR faculty and were able to let the neuroradiologists out of the IR call pool, standardizing both our daytime and call IR services. This was critical for our growth and reputation within the hospital system as we sought to provide the highest level of IR service.


As we grew and started our vein practice, we hired our fifth IR, Donnette Dabydeen, MD, who joined with a specialty interest in mammography.


Last year, as we expanded IR services to the second hospital in our system, we hired Ihab Akladious, MD, who was previously our chief resident before going on to a fellowship at Mount Sinai, and have recently hired Garrett Schneider, MD, another former chief resident who completed his fellowship in Peoria.


As a private radiology group, RRA has had a professional services agreement with the Rochester Regional Health System to provide all radiology services for the past 45 years. While previously covering only the main hospital and its single outpatient imaging office, we now cover four inpatient hospitals and five outpatient imaging sites for both IR and DR services. IR at Rochester General Hospital is also the hub for all IR referrals across the system.


also curate a list of resources to help guide members who develop a new impairment or disability. In these small ways, we may normalize help- seeking behavior and foster a more supportive and inclusive professional community.


References


1. Gunderman RB, Grogan K. Physician impairment and professionalism. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2012;199(5):W543–4.


2. Keller EJ, Vogelzang RL. Who we are and what we can become: The anthropology of IR and challenges of forming a new specialty. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2018;29(12):1703–4 e2.


3. Iezzoni LI. Eliminating health and healthcare disparities among the growing population of people with disabilities. Health Aff (Millwood). 2011;30(10):1947–54.


4. Keller EJ. Philosophy in medical education: a means of protecting mental health. Acad Psychiatry. 2014;38(4):409–13.


5. Klein LW, Miller DL, Balter S, Laskey W, Naito N, Haines D, et al. Occupational health hazards in the interventional laboratory: Time for a safer environment. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2018.


6. Orme NM, Rihal CS, Gulati R, Holmes DR, Jr., Lennon RJ, Lewis BR, et al. Occupational health hazards of working in the interventional laboratory: A multisite case control study of physicians and allied staff. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2015;65(8):820–6.


7. Lowe J. Impairment versus disability: What’s the difference? Prof Case Manag. 2010;15(4):222–3.


8. Self-identifying as disabled and developing pride in disability aid overall well-being. ScienceDaily [Internet]. 2017 July 22, 2020. Available from: sciencedaily.com/ releases/2017/08/170828164118.htm.


9. Rothstein L. Impaired physicians and the ADA. JAMA. 2015;313(22):2219–20.


10. Medicine AFABoI, Medicine A-AFACoP-ASoI, European Federation of Internal M. Medical professionalism in the new millennium: a physician charter. Ann Intern Med. 2002;136(3):243–6.


11. Moulton D. Physicians with disabilities often undervalued. CMAJ. 2017;189(18):E678–E9.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40