Son learns from ‘wizard’ father’s decades-long career in radiology

February 3, 2021

Zane Dubbels, RT(R) (RAD ’93), entered radiography as a second career. He’d been a farm laborer and had worked in shipping and receiving. With a growing family, he wanted a more promising career. His wife, Marie Dubbels, MT(ASCP), worked at Mayo Clinic in the Infectious Diseases Serology Laboratory and encouraged him to investigate opportunities with her employer. Zane got a job in Mayo’s X-ray archives, retrieving hard copy X-ray films before patient visits. That experience sparked his interest and made him want to learn more about X-ray. After learning about the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences (MCSHS) Radiography Program, Zane took a few prerequisite classes at a community college and then enrolled at MCSHS the following year.

After graduating in 1993, he started his career as a radiologic technologist in the Department of Radiology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. A few years later, Zane began precepting students in the program. “I remember what it felt like to struggle when I was a student and how good it felt when a preceptor showed me the way. I get joy out of seeing others excel. Knowledge and know-how are lost if you don’t share them to help others.”

During his career, Zane estimates he’s precepted 400 students. Including his son, Kyle, who was born around the time Zane began precepting.

Kyle Dubbels, RT(R) (RAD ’19), remembers going to the hospital with his dad during childhood on Saturday mornings to see what his work was like. “Throughout my life, Dad always came home with interesting stories about his work,” says Kyle. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a job. I explored accounting, but realized I liked person-to-person contact. I job shadowed some radiologic technologists at Mayo and liked what I saw, so I enrolled in the MCSHS Radiography Program.

“My dad was my preceptor a couple of times while I was training, and he precepted my classmates. They always had good things to say about him, and I personally learned a lot from him. You don’t really think about what your parents do at work, but I gained a lot of respect for him when I saw what he could do.”

Kyle says his father set a standard of care that he hopes to match. “He’s empathetic and patient and never makes patients feel rushed. He makes them feel as good as possible. People call him ‘the wizard’ because he’s able to explain to patients how to position themselves for imaging without even needing to touch them. We’ve become a lot closer since working in the same profession. I’m proud of him, what he’s accomplished and the esteem he’s held in.”

 

Zane says having his son in the same profession and with the same employer is good for the pair. “Kyle knows I’ve been through everything he encounters or struggles with, and he can come to me at any time for advice. I’m happy he’s found a career that fulfills him the way it has fulfilled me.”

Zane plans to retire in 2021. Kyle says he hopes to match – or best – his father’s 28 years in radiology. “I started younger than he did. Maybe I’ll get reach 29 years and beat him.”