DEAR ALUMNI,
Soroosh Mahboubi, MD, FACR I’m excited to share this year’s installment of Interviews with the Giants! This year, I spoke with Dr Soroosh Mahboubi, a radiologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for more than 50 years and this year’s winner of the Pat Pasquariello Service Award. We sat down to discuss his career at CHOP, and how radiology has changed during his tenure at the hospital. I hope you enjoy these comments from our conversation.
What is CHOP like now compared to when you first started in 1973?
I joined CHOP as a fellow in the Department of Radiology in 1973, but my first experience at CHOP was as a resident rotating from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in 1969. When I think back to those days, I am amazed at how much CHOP has expanded and generally developed. The old hospital at Bainbridge Street of course was much smaller, so much so that all the physicians basically knew each other and would consult regularly about all the inpatients. The Department of Radiology had 2 staff and 2 fellows (of which I was one). Numerically, it is almost impossible to compare today’s CHOP to those earlier days. And, of course, there is so much expansion in specialties and services.
In terms of the practice of radiology, back then we were reading plain radiographs that had been developed in the old-fashioned way, literally dried before they could be read. We would dictate our reports and send to an outside secretary to type before they were sent back to us for signature and then forwarding along to the referring physician. Now of course any images and reports are almost immediately available on the computer to be seen not just by the referring physician but the patient as well.
What has been most surprising about your career?
When I started at CHOP, our only diagnostic tools were reading plain film and fluoroscopy. It is hard to overstate how much the practice of radiology has evolved since those days. As acting chair of the department in mid-1970s, I hired Sydney Heyman to join us to establish our first new additional service, nuclear medicine. Over the decades, I have successively learned new imaging methods like ultrasound, CT scan, and MRI. I don’t think I could have anticipated so much development in our field. At the same time, I am pleased that I have the skills of reading plain film, which remains a highly effective diagnostic tool in many circ*mstances.
What are you most proud of in your career?
Of course, I am most proud of having, to the best of my ability, aided in the treatment of countless infants and children at CHOP over 50 years and having trained many generations of residents. I am also proud to haveestablished CT scan imaging into the practice of CHOP Radiology and to have been the radiologist on the team that launched the trauma center at CHOP.
And I am proud to have established the Soroosh Mahboubi International Fund for Higher Education at CHOP Radiology, a fellowship program that enables pediatric radiologists from around the world, including many developing countries, to visit CHOP for a short time to learn from our practices here and take that knowledge back to their home countries. I am grateful the program continues robustly under the present departmental chairmanship of Dr Kassa Darge.
The field of radiology has advanced tremendously over the past 50 years. What recent changes are most exciting?
What is most exciting right now and no doubt will be transformative is the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into the practice of radiology. Already we are seeing how AI can improve the accuracy, reliability, and efficiency of radiological imaging. Of course, as with any new technology, we need to be thoughtful about how we use it and stay on the lookout for any new problems it may introduce.
What has been most surprising to you about the field of pediatric radiology?
When I began my career, one could specialize in pediatric radiology as a whole, and we were expected to be expert in all aspects of the field. From about the middle of my career through today, we have seen ever more subspecialities emerge just within the field of pediatric radiology, such that general specialization in the field as a whole is far less common than before.
What advice do you have for physicians who are entering the senior years of their careers?
First of all, never underestimate your ongoing value for aiding in the treatment of patients. Be kind to yourself, and make sure to speak up before you burn out. And focus on the overall team in patient care, rather than just on yourself as an individual physician; always be a team player with your colleagues, even if they are much junior to you.
Thank you, Soroosh, for explaining the immense growth of Radiology. Until next issue, remember our Alumni motto:
Keep … Tradition, Keep … in Mind, Keep … in Touch!
With warmest wishes,
Cindy W. Christian, MD
