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In late 2017, UVA Pediatric Radiology faced a crisis in staffing. Within four months, three full-time pediatric radiologists had resigned from the department and the division needed immediate help to be able to continue caring for patients.<\/p>\nIn late 2017, UVA Pediatric Radiology faced a crisis in staffing. Within four months, three full-time pediatric radiologists had resigned from the department and the division needed immediate help to be able to continue caring for patients.<\/p>\n
The crunch required quick and creative thinking. Department Chair Dr. Alan Matsumoto reached out to colleagues at departments across the mid-Atlantic, pulling in pediatric radiologists from the Navy and Army in eastern Virginia to help. He also reached out to his fellow Chair at Georgetown University Medical Center, who recommended contacting Dr. Frank Volberg. Dr. Volberg was retired as Professor of Radiology and Chief of Pediatric Radiology at Georgetown, but was still working occasional days as needed.<\/p>\n
Dr. Volberg came down to Charlottesville in late December and met with Dr. Matsumoto. The two hit it off immediately. And so Nicole Vaughan, Faculty Affairs Coordinator, found herself working late on Christmas Eve to obtain clinical privileges for Dr. Volberg. There was no time to waste: he was needed right away, to start working over the holiday break.<\/p>\n
Three years later, things have stabilized in the department. Dr. Reza Daugherty joined the department as division chief in 2018, and Marcus Hook came aboard in July 2020. One full-time position remains, and it\u2019s still a challenge to recruit when, as Nicole Vaughan points out, there are \u201cmore positions available nationwide than there are pediatric radiologists.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a lifesaver (in 2017),\u201d says Dr. Daugherty. \u201cBut for the first two years I was here, we were still severely short-staffed. Even now, with Marcus joining, we\u2019re still down one-and-a-half full-time positions. Frank continues to be a lifesaver.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Dr. Volberg arrived at UVA, it was on the tail end of an impressive career in radiology.<\/p>\n
He completed his residency and fellowship at Cornell University. \u201cI had a chief of pediatric radiology who I really liked at Cornell,\u201d he says, \u201cand she asked me to stay and do pediatric radiology. I thought it was one of the few fields left in radiology that\u2019s still in some sense, general radiology \u2013 defined by the age of the patient, not by modality or methodology. It means endless variety.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Cornell, Dr. Volberg headed south to the University of North Carolina, where he was the head of pediatric radiology for five years. He then moved to Wake Forest for a decade before moving to northern Virginia to start the pediatric radiology program at INOVA Fairfax.<\/p>\n
In his 20 years at INOVA Fairfax, the department grew from one pediatric radiologist to four. The hospital built a pediatric hospital and Dr. Volberg loved the challenge of running the department. He retired in 2010 but he didn\u2019t stay retired for long: he was lured out of retirement to work part-time at Georgetown Medical Center, which he did from 2010-2017, until he took on a new challenge at UVA.<\/p>\n
Dr. Volberg likes to joke that he\u2019s the only radiologist he knows to have worked at so many ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) schools – four. \u201cGood basketball follows me wherever I go,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
But beyond that, he\u2019s grateful to have had the opportunity to take on a new challenge and lend a helping hand at UVA.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhysicians are interested in being helpful to people in need,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s an appealing role to me. I don\u2019t have anything to prove, here at the end of my career, and it\u2019s kind of fun to be philosophical about it, and look at it from the point of view of being useful, being a useful citizen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Reza Daugherty echoes this sentiment. \u201cIt\u2019s clear that Frank loves being here, loves to contribute and likes to stay active,\u201d he says. \u201cHe\u2019s not the type of person that retirement is for.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
At age 77, most people would be enjoying their retirement years. But Dr. Volberg is spending two days every week commuting down from his home in northern Virginia and staying in a hotel in Charlottesville to work at UVA. \u201cI know just about every curve on the road and where the speed traps are,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n
In a typical week, Dr. Volberg spends Tuesdays and Wednesdays teaching residents and doing clinical work in the hospital and in the Battle Building. Teaching the next generation of radiologists is something he has always enjoyed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tend to gravitate towards first year residents when teaching, because being an older radiologist, I have deep experience in plain films, ultrasound and fluoroscopy,\u201d he says. \u201c The things that they need to learn to get going.\u201d<\/p>\n
His fellow UVA Pediatric Radiologist Luke Lancaster has seen first-hand the impact that Dr. Volberg has on residents. \u201cHe can teach (them) all kinds of things not found in textbooks. And, more importantly, he teaches them that he really enjoys what he\u2019s doing, years and years into his career.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a phenomenal teacher,\u201d adds Reza Daugherty. \u201cHe\u2019s seen and done things that we never have and never will, because radiology has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a labor of love for Dr. Volberg. \u201cPart of the appeal in coming here was that UVA has a top program,\u201d he says. \u201cThis department is quite diverse and extremely excellent, and I just love to see those two things come together in such a beautiful way as they have here at UVA.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, I love Charlottesville,\u201d he adds. \u201cI do an awful lot of bicycling, and it\u2019s so easy to ride out of the city and into the country. It\u2019s a beautiful place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Volberg also has a deep respect for his pediatric radiology colleagues. \u201cLuke Lancaster is the most versatile radiologist I\u2019ve ever met,\u201d he says. \u201cReza Daugherty is not only a great radiologist, but a great administrator. And Marcus Hook, whose Chief at Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia is one of my dear friends, is an amazing young talent.\u201d<\/p>\n
For his fellow pediatric radiologists, working with Dr. Volberg is a joy. \u201cAs a colleague, he\u2019s ideal,\u201d says Dr. Lancaster. \u201cHe\u2019s easy-going and pleasant to be around and has a sly sense of humor. Nothing gets him upset. He puts people at ease – he has that kind of demeanor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Daugherty is immensely grateful to have the benefit of Dr. Volberg\u2019s years of experience. \u201cOn a personal note, he\u2019s been a sounding board for me, a mentor for me. He has seen it all, done it all, been a division chief. And it just happens that we have identical research interests, in contrast ultrasound.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Volberg plans to stay at UVA for two to three more years, to give Dr. Daugherty the chance to recruit one more full-time pediatric radiologist. That would complete the rebuilding work that has been going on since 2017. Dr. Volberg is confident that this final piece of the puzzle will fall into place. And until then, he\u2019s delighted to play his part.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an extraordinarily strong department,\u201d he says. \u201cNot to get too bogged down in comparisons, but it\u2019s the best radiology department I\u2019ve ever worked in. You can be sure that everyone who is working here is an expert in their field. It\u2019s a powerful group of people, and it\u2019s exciting and challenging to work alongside them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In late 2017, UVA Pediatric Radiology faced a crisis in staffing. Within four months, three full-time pediatric radiologists had resigned from the department and the division needed immediate help to be able to continue caring for patients. The crunch required quick and creative thinking. Department Chair Dr. Alan Matsumoto reached out to colleagues at departments […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1923,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[60,1,51],"tags":[94],"class_list":["post-10129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faculty-highlights","category-news","category-radiology-stories","tag-intranet"],"acf":false,"yoast_head":"\n