AAP News: Making a difference, Dr. Phillips' dedication to pediatrics is personal

Dr. George Phillips

By Wynn St. Clair

When George Phillips’ son was 17 months old, he noticed a lump on the back of the boy’s head and realized it was a swollen lymph node.

It was the first sign his son, Carter, had leukemia.

Within 36 hours, Carter had surgery to insert a port and began treatment. He would complete his active treatment before kindergarten and, as he grew older, barely remember the health scare.

But for his father — an award-winning pediatrician with extensive academic credentials and longtime involvement with the AAP — the episode provided a deeper appreciation for his profession and the difference it can make.

“As a pediatrician, you know you’re going to encounter a child with a life-threatening illness. But for it to happen with your only child at the time, is something you can’t prepare for,” said George C. Phillips, M.D., M.B.A., FAAP. “It's a club you never want to be part of. But that experience — to be the parent of a child with a life-threatening disease — has influenced how I view pediatrics and medicine. It’s just another perspective I have.”

Read the full article via AAP News.

Learn more about the Division of General Academic Pediatrics at Children's Mercy.