David: We are here with eminent physician Dr. Morley Phillips, and he's a friend of mine and a brilliant physician. I've always been curious as to why this man chose medicine. Dr. Phillips: I've been doing it for thirty-eight to forty years now, so looking back as to why, or what the foundations are all about, takes a moment to consider. When I was a child, I recall tracing drawings of anatomy that my parents had in the house, and I spent my winters drawing pictures of different parts of the body, and tracing them. I think maybe the roots were way back at that point. I recall, when I went to high school, that I had some ambitions to become a doctor, but I also had a fascination for the English language. I wondered if I might be an author, perhaps a journalist, and so when I went to university, I went with all my options open. I went into English, and I enjoyed it very much. But I discovered that I also had an ability to do science, so I had a decision to make. I had a fascination for the animal world, and I still do. I enjoy going out and watching animals, birds, and so I even thought I might become a naturalist. However, as time went on, I discovered that my main fascination was in science, so I went into medicine, for which I am not regretful in any way, and it has become a great fascination to me. I continue to learn, and I study and read textbooks just for fun.
David: I've spoken to other doctors who admittedly say that this isn't their passion, their passion is golfing or doing something else. How much of this is a passion, and how much is this a duty you feel? That if you walked away, you'd be walking away from something that is more important to the world than just yourself? Dr. Phillips: I'm not sure that I would call it a passion. I'm fascinated, I'm a very curious person. I find that medicine has a great range of curiosities and unknowns. It's full of color and variety, so I find it continuously fascinating. Although, I have other interests as well, and I could walk away, but I think that a big part of me would go missing. I think I'll always continue to read medicine probably forever, but I do, as I say, have competing interests. David: In the years that you have been practicing medicine, what has been the most-not necessarily momentous change-but significant change in your field in the years that you've been practicing? The approach to medicine, the particular drug that's being used? Dr. Phillips: I think the largest change I've seen is not so much in me, but in the society itself. People have become much more astute, more knowledgeable, with access to the Internet, come in and make suggestions to me about how they could proceed with their problems. That's the largest change, and I welcome it, because I think doctors do not have the corner on knowledge, on medical issues. Patients very often interact with us, and we go forward together. I think, generally, that is the nature of science itself. Science asks questions continuously and it is open-minded, and so we gradually move forward like the tide toward finding solutions to mankind's problems. David: Other than medicine-obviously you enjoy so much more that there is to offer in the world, intellectually, academically. What outside of medicine gives you the greatest thrill in your life?
Dr. Phillips: Probably at the moment, I enjoy nature, I like hiking in the mountains, I like watching birds, I like photography. I paint, I write poems, I write stories. I enjoy being with my friends who enjoy these things. I just had a gathering with my hiking partners this past weekend; we celebrated our 30th hike. We do one week a year on a major adventure hike, and we've done 30 years of this. David: Myself, and everyone who knows you, including all the doctors here, follow your exploits-climbing mountains and traveling across dangerous rivers. Where is your next adventure going to be?
Dr. Phillips: I don't actually have any adventures planned, although my next holiday will be on the Florida Keys in January. This past year, I've been to places like Belize, the Arctic. I've hiked in the northwest corner of Vancouver Island, on the coast, for a week. I've been following the footsteps of Lewis and Clark in Washington and Oregon. David: I want to know what has been your greatest adventure.
Dr. Phillips: I think the largest experience in my life is working in East Africa. I was a flying doctor there for a year. This involved going to the remotest parts of East Africa, and working with tribes of people and rescuing people in dire need. That probably was the most of a watershed experience, I would say, in my life. That was in the mid-70s.
David: Thank you very much, Dr. Phillips. It was a pleasure speaking with you.
Dr. Phillips: Thank you very much.
