Legendary Doctors

I arrived in Maryville on December 10th, 1977, probably 8 hours after graduating from UT-Memphis (the U-Haul truck was loaded and sitting outside the Mid-South Coliseum).  I started my first job as a physical therapist at Blount Memorial Hospital two days later.

So my first job was with BMH.  My last job will be with BMH.  In between have been lots of stories.  You get some of those in this space.

In the late 70's, health care in America was growing, expanding, and becoming more evidence-based.  At BMH there was a cadre of stellar physicians, many of which were nearing the end of incredible careers.

I arrived and was immediately in awe of the medical community.  Legends like Drs. Henry & Jim Callaway, Drs. WW, WC, and Clay Crowder.  Dr. John Yarborough.  Dr. Jim Proffitt.  Dr. Marvin Peterson.

And then Dr. Bob Haralson, Dr. Jim Ricciardi, and Dr. Bryan Smalley at MOC were providing up-to-date orthopedic care.  It's why that after a two year hiatus (I usually refer to it as my sabbatical) in West Virginia, I returned in 1981 to open my own practice.

What I recall most vividly about those physician legends is how they took in this young, green physical therapist who might not always have known what he was talking about and treated him with respect, even seeking his opinion.

The Callaways, brilliant surgeons in any setting, would stop and talk to me and were genuinely interested in what I was doing and what I was thinking.

I have never stopped being appreciative.  Dr. Homer Isbell would sit with me in the cafeteria if I were there alone instead of heading to the room reserved for the hospital's doctors. 

Dr. Haralson opened doors to sports medicine for me.  Dr. Ken Bell and I took opportunities provided to us and ran with them for many years.

So where's all this going?  You never know what influences you have over people.  Kindness and respect displayed constantly yields great results.  Maybe not today, but eventually.

And mentors and role models can be found anywhere.  What those fine gentlemen were teaching me was how it should be done, teaching me how to be the professional that I hope I am today. 

I've complained before about Charles Barkley's statement that he wasn't  going to be anybody's role model.  Well, guess what Chuck...people are looking at you all the time.  And the more popular you are, the more people are looking at you and modeling your behaviors.

Lots of kids, both boys and girls, look up to sports stars.  They want to grow up just like them.  The good ones embrace that responsibility and act accordingly.  The bad ones--well, let's just say that we have to teach our kids how to pick out the good ones.

Sometimes even those will disappoint us but never forget that at the end of the day they're humans too and subject to the real world issues that can impact all of us.

So lest you haven't realized it yet, regardless of your setting--a hospital, school, or sports arena--little eyes are watching you.