I have worked in a solo family medicine since 1981. I joined a group practice after moving to town, but wasn't happy with it and quit after one year. Fortunately, times were different then and I was able to have good cross coverage with others in the community. OB was part of my practice for 5 years, but I found it was just not worth the constraints on family life and time in the setting of a solo practice. From 1980 to 2003, I also worked a few shifts per month in our local emergency department until a close friend who died of cancer made me realize that the time I was working was worth more than the money I was trying to put away in the kids' college fund. I am one of four solo practitioners left in the community, and we share call for weekends, holidays and days off. I still very much like clinical medicine. One of my favorite things has been to work in our family practice residency program as a clinic preceptor here in Klamath Falls at the Cascades East Family Practice, a division of the program at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. I had a turn at Chief of Staff one year at our hospital, but I frankly find the political aspects of medicine frustrating. I think I have about 5 more years of practice left. I would like to have some block time off to do some of the things I have enjoyed like travel, bicycle touring, maybe some volunteer work as I get closer to retirement. We were able to take some of that time off on two occasions and that was encouraging for the future. Nobody really knows what will happen with the changes in our health care system, but I think that family practice will figure large in delivering high quality care to our nation. We need to continue to attract great people to our specialty, however, and that is difficult with the disparity in reimbursement.
Just trying to be a good husband, father and community member.
Fellowship ceremony of the AAFP at one of the national meetings.
Outdoor activities in general. We have grown very fond of bicycle touring and just completed a self-supported ride in which we camped and cooked our way from San Diego to St. Augustine, Florida over two months last spring, arriving on my 60th birthday. We have some more adventures that we have planned over the next few years if all works out
Two that stand out: having fake "picnics" with friends and family in the dining room at University Hospital while on call, and learning how to country swing dance with friends from the residency at the Stumble Inn.
My wife Marcia and I have been married for 36 years, and we have three children: Brynn (who was born in my second year of residency), Robyn and Tyler. They are all grown, through college, happy, well-adjusted and married now. No grandchildren yet, but we are hopeful. Robyn and Tyler and their spouses live in the Portland area, and Brynn and her husband live in Maine, where they recently moved from Boston. We can try to get together very often, and all get along very well.