How did plasma physics research turn into a successful radiology career? It is an easy question to answer for University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center Chief Medical Physicist and Senior Staff Scientist Dave Jordan, MS, Ph.D., DABR, DABMP, DABSNM, MRSE (MRSC), FACR, FAAPM. He is also a professor of radiology at Case Western Reserve University.
“I was introduced to medical physics by a fellow nuclear engineering graduate student when I was working on research in plasma physics. I had studied electromagnetic fields and radiation measurements and had a lot of hands-on experience with strong magnets and devices like particle accelerators,” Jordan explained. “This turned out to translate well to X-ray, nuclear medicine and MRI.”
It also translated into a career that Jordan loves.
“There is a tremendous variety in my day-to-day work. I have days that are mostly meetings, ‘quiet’ office days working on projects, a fair number of administrative and management duties, and I still get out in the field plenty, where I get to do hands-on work with imaging equipment, catch up face-to-face with our front-line radiology teams and teach residents,” he says when asked why he loves his job.
Among his many accomplishments, helping others is what stands out in his mind.
“Starting a medical physics residency program and seeing our trainees go on to successful careers in medical physics will probably always be at the top of this list for me. There are not enough of these programs today, so there is a critical need, and it’s humbling to see the talent and the drive that students have to excel in this field,” Jordan said when asked about his greatest achievement.
The ability to provide guidance to talented students is another rewarding aspect of his day.
“Everyone has challenges in their work where they need something they don’t have, whether that’s a skill, knowledge, authority, resources, contacts or something else that a leader needs to provide. I’m usually trying to figure out what that is, and then provide what I can both to solve the short-term problem and to equip the person to succeed on their own in similar situations in the future, if I can,” Jordan said.
Appropriately, Jordan received some guidance from mentors during his career.
“My journey as a mentee has been a bit unusual; after graduate school I’ve had many different mentors, most shorter-term and focused on very narrow areas or topics. I wasn’t ‘under anyone’s wing’ long-term, so to speak. But everyone I’ve worked with has modeled generosity with their time, attention and advice, so I’ve tried to do that as a mentor myself,” Jordan explained. “I currently mentor several medical physics residents as well as my employees who are working to advance their careers, so I try to remember what I didn’t know that would’ve been helpful when I was at their stage and guide them from what I know now.”
Away from work, Jordan enjoys spending time with extended family near home and all over the country.
“I’m a proud husband and a proud dad to a second grader and a kindergartener, and our senior rescue dog (chow-husky mix) is actually in charge of the household. We’re lucky to have my parents nearby and a wonderful extended family across the country to visit when we can,” Jordan said.
FUN FACTS:
1. What is the last book you read? “The System: The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football”
2. Favorite movie? “Star Wars”
3. What is something most of your coworkers don’t know about you? I do actually sleep.
4. Who is your mentor? Jason Theadore is my business mentor, and Claudia Kraly and Himanshu Pandya (both now retired) taught me so much about the business of health care and how to navigate a big health system. Dr. Ray Muzic, a fellow radiology faculty member at Case Western Reserve, is my scientific and academic mentor.
5. What is one thing you do every morning to start your day? I make or pick up the biggest coffee I can, with plenty of cream and sugar, and scan my digital calendar and task list to plan out the day on a page in a paper notebook.
6. Best advice you ever received? Write everything down.
7. Who has had the biggest influence on your life? My parents
8. What would your superpower be? Invisibility. In physics we have the Heisenberg uncertainty principle – when you observe or measure something, you actually change it. There are so many situations where your presence can affect what you are seeing and hearing, so I think a lot about what it would be like to make a “pure” observation, whether that’s a business meeting or the sounds of bugs and birds on a walk through the woods.
9. What are your hobbies? Going to live theater with my wife, Lego and Play-Doh projects with my kids, and reading. Hoping to add travel, golf and playing guitar back to the list as the kids get older and the pandemic (hopefully) continues to wind down.
10. What is your perfect meal? Anything with plenty of cheese.
