Working in a hospital emergency department (ED) can make an indelible mark. For Dr. David L. Glasser, it was the catalyst for a career in medicine. In his fourth year at the University of Pennsylvania, while “shadowing” a variety of careers, he volunteered in a local ED. “I saw how, with medical training, I could help people immediately, in what may be their most vulnerable moment,” he said. A Florida native, he went on to receive his medical degree in 1994 from the University of South Florida, completing his radiology residency and fellowship at the University of Maryland.
University of Maryland classmate Michael McDermott, MD, who joined RAF in 1997, stayed in touch and suggested he pursue a career with RAF. In 1999, Dr. Glasser visited Fredericksburg, loved the city, and an offer from RAF soon followed. “Eleven years after, I can honestly say, I still enjoy coming to work every day,” he said. “What I observed from the start is still true now: our doctors lead by example.”
A board-certified diagnostic radiologist, specializing in musculoskeletal imaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Dr. Glasser has also assumed leadership roles with the practice as RAF’s president for four years. He oversees the business side of the practice, in concert with RAF Chief Executive Officer Ed Swager.
“Our decision to provide 24×7 coverage reflects our commitment to quality care, and to our community overall.”
“Early on, Dr. Glasser impressed senior associates with his profound grasp of MRI and musculoskeletal imaging, joined with an advanced native intellect and caring dedication,” noted his colleague, Michael J. Hewitt, MD, a board-certified diagnostic radiologist with RAF. “He is a quiet doctor, more a careful listener than talker. He is a lovely person. He had, and still has, the special gift of teaching others with kind generosity, and leaving the instructed feeling better about the case, and themselves. RAF is fortunate Dr. Glasser chose to focus his considerable skills on RAF leadership at this time in his career. His various and unsurpassed skills are guiding us forward with honor. In my experience, no one has had a more profound effect on RAF, and our mission of improving patient care, than Dr. Glasser.”
Dr. Glasser describes the central philosophy of RAF as “creating a partnership” with patients, colleagues, referring physicians, and the community. RAF’s mode of interaction, he noted, is consistently proactive.
“Our largest partner, Mary Washington Healthcare, rarely needs to ask us to do something. We see ourselves as an engine that is pulling rather than being pulled.”
For example, although many radiology practices in the US outsource night and weekend work to read medical images online, RAF decided to staff its practice with on-site radiologists 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at the Mary Washington Hospital campus. These physicians, who have subspecialist fellowship training, also cover after-hour needs at Stafford Hospital and Mary Washington Healthcare’s Emergency & Outpatient Center – Lee’s Hill. Images are accessed through a Picture Archive Communication System.
“We believe that local referring physicians are best served by local radiologists, as we are the ones most familiar with their practice preferences and best suited to help answer their clinical questions,” Dr. Glasser noted. “Our decision to provide 24×7 coverage reflects our commitment to quality care, and to our community overall.”
Outside the office, Dr. Glasser continues to pursue the interests he has always enjoyed: golf, guitar, and basketball, a sport he’s played since the age of 10. Today, he is on the court every Wednesday night with a group of community “hoopsters,” whom he describes as people of all ages, from all walks of life.
Dr. Glasser has two daughters: Casey, age 10, and Julia, age 8. He says that being their father is his greatest joy.