Quote

I used drugs as a social activity; a way to have fun with friends.

I am not really sure how I got interested in medicine.

I had the privilege of practicing medicine in the early '60s, before we had any government. It worked rather well, and there was nobody on the street suffering with no medical care.

If not for the success that medicine has made, I might be part of a much different story right now.

I no longer practice medicine, but I can say that, for me, medicine was easier - and certainly less emotionally turbulent - than writing.

Practicing medicine is not only my vocation, it gives me an opportunity to continue to be in direct contact with people, to see them and hear their needs.

As I've met clinicians in my travels, time after time I've been inspired to hear why people went into medicine: to apply their way-above-average minds (and hearts) to work that's beyond most people's capacity, and perhaps save a few lives.

I treated as few patients as I could as a medical student, and I never practiced medicine.

Medicine's good for some people. Not for me.