April 28, 2022
Think outside the box. Don’t just accept conventional wisdom. Ask good questions. Find good mentors and sponsors to help you navigate your career. Figure out your intrinsic motivator.
These are just some of the nuggets of advice shared by this month’s RLI podcast guest, Richard Duszak, Jr., MD, FACR. During this conversation, he shares his experiences growing up outside of Philadelphia, how his early interest in the intersection between the role of the physician and the broader political and economic ecosystem drew him to medicine and guided his career as well as some interesting consultantships he has been involved in.
After completing medical school at The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and residency at Duke University Medical Center, where he was awarded the first J.T. Rutherford Government Relations Fellowship by the American College of Radiology (ACR), Dr. Duszak began his career as a diagnostic and interventional radiologist with West Reading Radiology Associates in West Reading, Pennsylvania, rising to practice president and CEO just eight years after joining the group out a fellowship. After a three year term, he was recruited south to practice in Memphis, Tennessee before going all in with an academic career at Emory university in 2014.
His scholarly pursuits focus on health policy (particularly as it pertains to medical imaging access, utilization, and payment systems) and practice management. In 2012, Dr. Duszak was named Founding Chief Executive Officer of the American College of Radiology’s Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, transitioning to the role of Chief Medical Officer after one year. Immediate past Council Speaker, and current member of Board of Chancellors of the ACR, Dr. Duszak serves as Chair of its Commission for Leadership and Practice Development which oversees Radiology Leadership Institute (RLI).
In July 2022, Dr. Duszak will become Chair of the Department of Radiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
