RSNA will hold its 107th scientific assembly and annual meeting in Chicago’s McCormick Place from November 28 through December 2. HealthCare Business News spoke with the association’s president Dr. Mary Mahoney, department chair and chief of imaging at the University of Cincinnati UC Health. Dr. Mahoney spoke with us about her background, her time with the RSNA and what she has put her energy into during her time as president.

HCB News: Who or what inspired you to follow a career in healthcare?
Mary Mahoney: I was inspired by my father, who was a surgical oncologist. I always looked up to him. He was my hero. I remember when he would prepare lectures for his residents or for a meeting where he was presenting, he would project his slides onto our living room wall. I was just a little kid, but I was fascinated — it was gory stuff, but I always thought it was interesting. I would pepper him with questions: “Well, what is that? What is this?”

HCB News: Why did you focus on radiology?
MM: I loved the focus in radiology on solving the problem, on answering the question. I loved the interaction with all the different aspects of medicine. Imaging was central to so many interactions with surgeons and internists and nephrologists and obstetricians. I found it fascinating that you would be able to take all the information and be able to come up with the diagnosis. That focus on problem solving was very appealing to me.

HCB News: When did you begin your career?
MM: I finished my training in 1989.

HCB News: Can you talk about some of your career milestones?
MM: I had a fairly routine academic career. I was an assistant professor. After that I became the section chief of breast imaging. Later, I took on the role of vice chair of research in the department, and eventually I became the department chair.

HCB News: How long have you been a member of the RSNA?
MM: I joined RSNA during my residency. I remember the first time I went to the RSNA Annual Meeting I was a resident, and I gave my very first scientific presentation on the stage at the Arie Crown Theater in McCormick Place. It was a little scary, but exciting and exhilarating.

HCB News: Going from giving a presentation at RSNA to being the president has some steps in between. Why did you choose to take that journey?
MM: I’d have to say two things sent me down this path. One is that I’ve had terrific role models and mentors who provided support and encouragement over the years. The second is that it’s been a labor of love. I’ve been involved in RSNA since my very early years. I’ve found it inspiring and interesting and, as I said, exhilarating. It’s just such an incredible experience to work with my colleagues on new RSNA initiatives and to walk around McCormick Place at the Annual Meeting, where there’s so much to see and learn. Over the years, I continued to find the experiences so rewarding that each time I was asked to take on a new role, I’d gladly say yes. Soon, another interesting opportunity would come along, and I’d take that on. One day, I was asked if I would like to join the board. Now, eight years later, I’m the president.

HCB News: What initiatives have you focused on during your time leading the society?
MM: In my President’s Address, “Redefining Radiology: The Road Ahead”, I plan to highlight a few initiatives that have been a focus of the work I’ve done with RSNA over the years. The first is bringing greater awareness to the very critical role that radiology plays in health care. There’s rarely a patient that comes through our doors that doesn’t have some kind of imaging component as part of their health care journey. Radiologists make such an important, vital contribution to those patients and their medical care every day. I think we need to draw greater attention to that role we play, whether it’s reducing the need for invasive surgery because the CT scan answered the question, or early detection of breast cancer through annual screening, Radiology provides value and saves lives.

There are two other areas I’m particularly passionate about. One is patient-centered radiology. One of the early jobs I had with RSNA was working on the Radiology Cares campaign, which was all about patient-focused radiology care. I’ve spent a lot of time in my department working on that as well.

The other area is about promoting diversity — within our specialty, within our departments and practices, within our Society and within leadership. As a woman, one of my goals has been to help provide equitable, inclusive membership that reflects the needs and diversity of our members.

The RSNA board made some significant changes this year to put out a call for at-large board members. By expanding the board beyond our succession board, we can create a more diverse and inclusive deliberating body, providing an opportunity for younger, or private-practice radiologists to contribute their unique perspectives. While there remains work to be done, we’re making great strides toward more diverse representation on the board, because it’s important.

HCB News: Did you have any other initiatives in mind that changed due to the pandemic?
MM: In my department as in all departments, we had to very quickly shift gears and rethink how we did everything — from teaching the residents, to our daily workflows, to what patients we could image and which exams we had to postpone. It was a lot of work, personally and professionally. At RSNA, it was equally challenging. Obviously, last year we had to pivot very quickly to a fully virtual meeting. For me, the role of president has been to travel and represent the organization in North America and at various meetings all over the world. I traveled — via Zoom — so I’ve been to lots of exciting places, but not in person.

My theme for this year’s meeting is “redefining radiology”. Many of the things I will discuss in my address and during the week and beyond are about some of the lessons we’ve learned from the pandemic, from inefficiencies in our practices to how we approach teaching. The pandemic has forced us to reflect on how we have always done things and to reassess our values. We also became keenly aware of the healthcare disparities inherent in our system. Now that these inefficiencies and inequities have been revealed, we can work to bring about positive change.

HCB News: Speaking with some other organizations earlier in the year, I’ve been told the silver lining of the pandemic has been the increased output of whitepapers and high-quality research as professionals strived to stay busy and connected. Was that something you encountered in radiology?
MM: For a time, yes. Mammography, for example, was shut down. Only critical imaging was being done. We kept the patients already in the pipeline with urgent issues, so my breast imagers had work to do, but not the volume to which they were accustomed. During that pocket of time, where everyone’s clinical duties weren’t all-consuming, we were able to write papers, work on grants, complete projects and develop lectures. Radiology published some of the earliest imaging research articles and white papers on COVID-19. The amount of quality work that was developed during such a challenging time was certainly impressive.

HCB News: What would you say to a young radiology professional who hasn’t joined the RSNA yet?
MM: Why haven’t you? What are you waiting for? But really, attracting new members is something all societies struggle with these days. Younger radiologists don’t seem to be joining professional societies to the same degree as when I was coming out of training. But RSNA is such an incredible organization and can offer young radiologists the tools, the education, the meeting experience and the connections they need to excel in their subspecialty. In many ways, the success of my career had a lot to do with the success and things I did at RSNA. I would tell anyone in radiology they really should consider joining.

HCB News: Returning to the topics of diversity and inclusion for a minute, how much of a positive shift have you seen during your career?
MM: I think we’re doing better. Traditionally, radiology is definitely more of a male field. To think that Dr. Redman was the first woman president of RSNA in 1995 — that’s not bad, that was quite some time ago. We’ve made a lot of intentional effort at RSNA to promote women, and today 60% of the chairs of RSNA are women. We’ve started a diversity, equity and inclusion committee; we’ve made some changes to our board; we have numerous educational sessions on diversity, equity and inclusion, but the work isn’t finished. I think the women entering the field today will have a somewhat better path than those of my generation, but there are still issues. We’re not doing as well, for example, with under-represented minorities. I think we’ve made some great progress with women, but we have more to do.

HCB News: What are you most anticipating about this year’s show?
MM: Being back in Chicago. I’m excited to go back, excited to have the meeting live, to see my colleagues from across the world. I think we have a stellar lineup of speakers, too, that reflect the things I have found important and have been a part of my career.