What And What If Creates Pathways

Pathways, forks in the road, and the influence of others; these are some of the themes that Bruce mentions when asked about his life’s journey. He is quick to point out that his accomplishments and his journey is not his alone. To him, the sum of the parts is much bigger and greater, and it’s because of those parts and the people that have been alongside him that he has accomplished many of his goals.

Heeding his own words of “wanting to help people”, Bruce attended Oregon Institute of Technology after high school to pursue a degree in radiological technology. After completing those studies, he worked full-time as an x-ray technologist and contemplated a different path. He ultimately decided to go back to school with an eye towards medical school. He had discovered that he wanted to go further and expand his ability to help others in different and deeper ways. Here he is quick to point out the need for seeking wise counsel from others because he was given that many times over along the way. The encouraging words were helpful and true, and he passes along those same words and ideas whenever he can.

After finishing his bachelor’s degree and graduating magna cum laude from Arizona State University, Bruce gained admission to University of Arizona College of Medicine and completed medical school. After that it was on to Springfield, Illinois where he completed a radiology residency program at Southern Illinois University. In his senior year he was selected as Chief Resident. Following residency, Bruce chose to pursue one more year of sub-specialized training at Duke University where he completed a fellowship in women’s imaging.

His education, training, and work in breast imaging have allowed him to participate in the transformation of breast imaging and breast care from the mid 1990’s to the present. In 1999, he brought breast MRI to his local medical community and its wide referral base. He embraced this powerful technology early on and even performed MRI guided biopsies before commercially marketed biopsy devices were available. He continued to be a valuable local community resource with informative talks and lectures, as well as a world-wide contributor to medicine with the development of the recently patented Safety Shield device. That device is designed to prevent needle sticks and the associated health risks.

Bruce has additional innovation and invention ideas that he would like to see come to fruition. He sees himself as one who thinks outside the box for new solutions to old and new problems and questions. He’ll admit that some of his favorite phrases begin with “What if…”, “What about… ”, and “Why not…”