Education of a Hospice Doctor

Greg Phelps was Chief Medical Officer for a health system spanning 

two states and contemplating retirement when his mother passed 

away in hospice. 

Intrigued by this burgeoning discipline in 

end of life care and burned out on his 

administrative position, he decided over 

the strong objections of spouse and family 

to go back to school, resuming an intern like 

position as a fellow in Hospice and 

Palliative Care. 

Going back to school at age 55 proves to be 

a challenge beyond what he might have 

anticipated. "Just think of me as an intern 

with 30 years experience," he breezily tells his residents and fellows 

but what ensues is a stressful hands-on journey with sick and often 

dying patients while confronting his own aging and illness as well as 

new faculty young enough to be his children. 

Peppered with anecdotes drawn from the daily experience, 

seasoned with both humor and inevitable sadness, this story 

explains both what hospice doctors do, what they learn and how, in 

the end, we all acknowledge our own mortality. 

Gregory L Phelps MD, MPH, MAHCM, CAS CPE, FAAFP, FACPM, FAAHP