Dr. Greg Phelps of Alleo Health/Hospice of Chattanooga about returning to med school at age 55!

Who is just beginning their second college career that's th case in point with doctor greg alps of chattanooga.

He did jus that he is got a new book out and he is going to spend a few moments with us.

Doctor greg phelps good morning good morning.

Thank you tell us what happens.

What led you to decide at age 5.

I'm going go back to college and get a medical docto degree will already have the medical doctor, a great doctor for 30 years but on my mother passed away in hospice and i decided i wanted to go back out and say back to fellowship in hospice and pelvic medicine that had been kind of a different sort of learning environment into a pentecost accustomed to back when you were in med schoo and you look around the classroom.

This time around, th students are half your age that play into your advantage.

I actually know my disadvantage.

The faculty were literally my daughter's age and people when they would see me in a patient's room assume that i was doctor and they would talk to me and that was very very frustrating for the what led you to write this book ... several things.

The first is that i wanted to talk about going back to school nurse have a little different challenge than younger which i described in some detail the other partner is wanting to learn about end-o- life care.

I will mention that they don't teach much about this in medical school of i was in med school in 1979, when doctor elizabeth ross first wrote and dying and educational element of life care is not really improved since the in fact, in the state of tennessee.

Five medical schools.

Only one of them requires any time for the medical students seeing patients around, and life care and your family take the news when you walked in one night wa a said that at the dinner table and said, i've got some news.

I'm going back to college was a response.

I didn't go well.

I think it's fair to say that it was my wife's dead body on.

She stayed in knoxville where we were living in time and i commuted to kentucky on she was mad the year i went she was mad the year i came back.

It's taken her a few years to forgive me for that you got some other pretty funny stories, illustrations in this book, you don't often hear if you were associated with hospice or paladin care true blood, one has to have a good sense of humor t keep life in perspective.

There's a sign behind me.

This is life is far too important to be taken seriously and i usually start my lectures with medical students way of bouncing back t life is a terminal illness on can be sexually transmitted with it are out of all the stories you wrote for this book, give us the nutshell version of what he favorite ... g on i would say learning about end-of-life care for one of my college roommates.

I was a orderly before medical school and she came in and was diagnosed with cancer and was so frustrated because she could talk about the fact she was dying.

Everyone would say oh no you be fine.

You'll be great.

Everything's okay and my mother went to go visit her and she asked asked out of the ruins.

How does it feel this will waiting to have the opportunity to talk to somebody about how i felt so my mom came in like three hours later going all my god i will ask the question again is something people really want to talk about one of the things i see so commonly workin in hospice is they asked the question, how long what's going on, and physicians are frequently terrible communication.

The average doctor wants to tell you stuff, but not necessarily about your condition so it can be very frustrating for the patient.

Th average doctor interrupts a patient in 16 seconds when the trying to tell the story well doctor phelps were to have to leave it there, but without doubt.

I think this could be a great book for both caregivers and especially other doctors when they're dealing with end-o- life situations.

Doctor greg phelps of the interest of full disclosure, you are now the medical director for chattanooga allele health systems and of you very much for the opportunity t talk.

We look forward to having you join us again come to your thank you doctor phelps and fin out more about how to get this book.

Trust is worth the read.

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