Roy Exum
It is one thing to be given an award and altogether another to earn one. Dr. Phillip Burns will be bestowed with his greatest honor on Monday night when a group of his peers will launch the R. Phillip Burns Surgical Society at Stratton Hall and, believe you this, he has ever more earned it.
Since he was recruited to Chattanooga as the Chair of the Department of surgery 39 years ago, he and others at the UT College of Medicine have produced 110 surgeons who have passed through the internship, residency and fellowship programs at Erlanger Hospital.
“Phil is a phenomenal person,” said Dr. Joel Clements, his partner of many years, “and his strength as an educator lies in his ability to teach by setting an example.”
Dr. Clements said the best way to understand teaching surgery is to liken it to the art of a brick mason. “You watch me do this … and then let me help you do this … and now let me watch you do this. It is the way you teach and learn surgery and Phil is as master at it.”
Originally the quiet yet sure Burns wanted to be a veterinarian, this after having grown up on a cattle farm in Pikeville, but a summer stint shadowing a surgeon opened his eyes. “I liked the hands-on aspect of surgery … plus Dr. Tom Cranwell gave me time off to show my cattle in competitions.”
When he graduated from med school in Memphis, he was immediately hired to be a surgeon and a teacher. As Dr. Louis Britt recalled, “We did not have to ‘manufacture’ him. Phil already had surgeon’s hands and the innate ability to look into a patient’s body and know what to do.”
Luckily for Chattanooga, he didn’t stay in Memphis long. Erlanger desperately needed leadership and because Dr. Burns is fond of saying, “My heart and my soul never left Route 2, Pikeville” he took a shaky program into a model today that boasts 32 doctors in surgical training. And that’s what gives him the most satisfaction.
“The graduates, both residents and medical students … the ones I have been lucky enough to teach. When we were designated as a Level 1 trauma center, we became an important part of the health safety net for Tennessee.”
Dr. Burns was instrumental in Erlanger’s helicopter response team. “When I was with the Air Force in Viet Nam, I saw what helicopters did to save lives. That first hour – we call it the ‘Golden Hour’ – is critical and we have a great surgical team in Chattanooga to handle any time of accident or problem. I’m really proud of the job we are doing and the services we are providing.”
That is why Dr. Burns is so revered. Medical students across the south scramble to be accepted at Erlanger and go through the six years of training that develops a surgeon. Erlanger is infusing millions into capital improvements, this at a hospital that does over 18,000 surgeries every year, and with more skilled doctors joining the staff, the UT College of Medicine just signed a new 10-year contract with Erlanger.
Dr. Burns takes great pride in the family farm, a 900-acre spread now being run by a fourth generation of his family. He earned the many awards that have been bestowed and his farm and his cattle. That goes back to when he was 9 years old and wanted to buy a calf for a 4-H project. Rather than give Phil the money, his father took him to the bank where he had to “borrow” the money but putting his most-prized possession – his horse, Polly – up as collateral.
Such life lessons are what has given him a thriving practice. Dr. Burns has no thoughts about retirement and adores his patients, his students and his life too much to walk away from his practice. “I think establishing a society in Phil’s name is a wonderful thing,” said Dr. Clements, “but he’s not going anywhere except to the operating room.”
The goal of the Society is “to promote lifelong learning for generations of surgeons,” and many of Dr. Burns’ former students will be in Chattanooga Sunday and Monday for the annual Scientific Meeting of the Southeastern Surgical Congress. About 200 physicians are expected to attend the launch party on Monday night.
* * *
Dr. Joe Cofer, a longtime colleague of Dr. Burns, and orthopedic surgeon Hugh Brown will be honored at Erlanger’s annual Dinner of Distinction next Friday night at The Chattanoogan. Senator Bob Corker will also receive the first “Gordon Street Distinguished Leadership Award” that will be given by the Erlanger Foundation.
Tickets to the dinner, which begins with drinks at 6 p.m., can be obtained through Christian Orth at the Erlanger Foundation office, 423-778-9298, or by email at Christian.Orth@Erlanger.com. Tickets are $85 each.
royexum@aol.com