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