Exploring Radiology with Dr. Bruce Fox
By Seth LeFlamme
Life Chiropractic Student
Someone looking for a run-of-the-mill lecture on radiology would be out of luck sitting in Dr. Bruce Fox’s Skeletal Radiology or Soft Tissue Radiology lecture sessions. The first thing that you are likely to notice is that in the front of the room, Dr. Fox (DC, DACBR) is nowhere to be found. Instead, he teaches from the center of the room with a slide projector as home base, periodically walking up and down the center aisle to point out an anomaly, or to illustrate a point on the slides. You will also notice something else different…his head isn’t buried in a set of lecture notes, nor are his eyes glued to a PowerPoint in the front of the room, reading off the bullet points.
“I always try to make it clinically relevant, keep it interesting, and to the best of my ability, have mastery of the topic. I don’t so much like to be out in the front, lecturing out to people, but rather be more in the audience. You’re almost more of a participant when you’re right in there with the group, so to speak, ” Dr. Fox points out, and his students don’t miss this value in his teaching style…no whispered conversations or other shenanigans ever happen with Dr. Fox running the room. As far as subject knowledge goes, with nearly 30 years of successful chiropractic radiology practice, and the ability to quote the 2-volume Yochum and Rowe textbook at will, Dr. Fox’s mastery is undeniable, and his ability to engage the room comes largely from that air of expertise that keeps all ears open.
When asked what he is most concerned with passing on to his students in his classes, Dr. Fox says it’s the understanding of a chiropractor’s great responsibility as a health care provider, and duty to see everything there is to be seen on a set of radiographic films taken at their office. Radiology is not a subject that comes easily, and neither does an A from Dr. Fox. “His classes are crazy hard! But because they are crazy hard, he definitely keeps the attention of the entire classroom each and every minute of the entire class,” says Katie Katzmark, a 12th quarter DC student, “He respects his students, and expects greatness from all of them.” He also highly respects his colleagues at Life of whom he is very proud to be counted as a member.
“You guys are lucky to have him,” says Dr. Librone, DC, a fellow instructor at Life. To illustrate, he recalls a recent administering of the Florida state board exams (known far and wide as the toughest test since the Spanish Inquisition) where out of fifty-five radiology questions, no Life student missed more than five. That kind of performance is not merely great, but as likely as winning the lottery, getting struck by lightning, and shaking hands with Bigfoot all in one day – unless you’re a Life student who was taught by Dr. Fox.
Inspired by greats such as Dr. Virgil Strang, and Dr. Russ Earhardt, Dr. Fox carried his reverence for mastery in a field, and fascination with the challenging, yet subtle art of radiology he picked up in Earhardt’s weekend seminars, and signed up for even more school, entering his residency at National just two years after earning his DC degree at Palmer. “I really enjoyed the process of looking at the films, and figuring out what was on the films,” Says Fox.
Dr. Fox openly admits that of his two easons for teaching at Life, one is altruistic (“It’s a way of giving back.”), and the other is selfish (“There is no better way to stay current in your chosen field than to have to teach it to others.”) — not so selfish since “He will give you everything he has in the classroom,” according to Katie, giving back the latest and best of his mastery of the often confounding study of radiology and the reading of films. Students have even been known to sit back in on his lectures after finishing the radiology portion of their course of study.
Aside from running DC students through their paces in the skeletal and soft tissue radiology, or running his busy radiology practice, Dr. Fox has a lot to be proud of in his life. His son and daughter are both in college for biomedical engineering and art, respectively. Also, he has been married to his wife for 26 years, who even serves as his partner in crime on some of his most challenging pursuits, such as his prized cookie recipe that “broke two wooden spoons” the first time he made it. Of course, from someone who also flies, runs, and lives the chiropractic lifestyle to a T, seeking a challenge in everything – even baking cookies – and shooting for nothing less than mastery is to be expected. Dr. Fox is not only a great teacher at Life, but also a great example in life, and as he approaches his 100th quarter teaching here, he is definitely part of what makes a Life University education unique and second to none in chiropractic.
