By Lee-Ann Cudmore.
Registered Acupuncturist, Call/text: 902-300-5100 valleyacu.ca
In case you have not had the pleasure, I would like to introduce you to Dr. Wayne Phillips.
Dr. Phillips graduated from Dalhousie Medical School in 1974. He and his family moved to Wolfville in 1977 and he has practiced Family Medicine for 42 years, which up until 2010 included: office practice at the Wolfville Professional Centre, hospital medicine at EKM and VRH, obstetrics, nursing home care, and Acadia University student health centre. Dr. Phillips is the medical director of the Wolfville Nursing Home and the Wolfville Elms, and he has a clinical practice in Wolfville. In 2006 Dr. Wayne Phillips was awarded Nova Scotia’s Family Physician of the Year and was recognized nationally by the College of Family Physicians of Canada as the recipient of the Reg L. Perkin Award.
When you live in a small town you begin to see patterns; my clients, friends, and family paint a beautiful and consistent picture when describing Dr. Phillips. He is highly regarded by his patients and members of the community. Everyone that I spoke with about this article had a similar reaction, there was a palpable feeling of gratitude that people hoped would be expressed and a quality that they described about the way Dr. Phillips made them feel. There is a quote by the poet and activist, the late, Maya Angelou which says, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feelâ€. It is in his actions, and words, and from his heart, that Dr. Wayne Phillips has made his clients feel heard, respected and valued.
Dr. Phillips as your retirement approaches, I want to thank you and I am so pleased to pass along these wishes and sentiments from your clients:
“During three decades in the Valley, I heard wonderful accolades about Dr. Phillips. When I eventually encountered him at the EKM clinic, I finally understood. I have never felt such respect.â€
“When you are in the office with Dr. Phillips, you feel like you are the only patient he is seeing all morning. He is an amazing doctor!”
“Dr. Phillips makes you feel like a whole person. He is interested in who you are and how you feel. He is sincerely curious, and listens intently. He is an incredible and genuine Family Doctor.â€
“Dr. Phillips, our family partnered with you for over forty years as we navigated the journey of health and wellness together. With you we shared tears, laughter, and hugs along the way and we deeply appreciate that you wholeheartedly, genuinely, and respectfully cared for, and about, us.â€
To you, his clients, Dr. Phillips wants to say:
“The quality of the doctor-patient relationship has always been the basis for my practice of medicine. It has been truly a privilege to be a family physician for so many wonderful people who live in this community. By sharing the intimacies of birth, death, and triumph over illness, these patients have allowed me the privilege to learn and understand much about the resiliency of the human spirit. For this I am thankful.
“Following university, each of our three children independently moved to British Columbia and they have remained there ever since. My wife Gwen and I have decided to start a new life chapter. We have made a very difficult decision – to leave Wolfville, which has been a very special home for 39 good years, and head to the west coast (Victoria to be specific) to get to know our four grandchildren. We hope to travel, babysit, experience city life and, for me, to do more cycling, gardening, reading, and some of the woodworking projects that have been on hold due to a very busy working life!â€
