MEET LOCAL LEGENDS: By Medical Specialty

"My father was a surgeon, a charismatic and well-respected man. He served as an inspiration for me. But it was an undergraduate college course in the structure of the cell that motivated me to become a pathologist."

"I wanted to be the kind of physician who paid attention to my patients, and didn't dismiss my patients' complaints."

"When I decided to give up law and go to medical school I had to justify it to myself. If I was going to be taking a place in a medical school class, I wanted to link my new career to my former career. I felt that helping children was the best way to do this."

"I think I decided to become a doctor when I was about four, under the direction of my father, who was a physician."

"My grandfather was a country doctor and all my life I heard how 'Faddy' would treat patients right on the front porch. He never turned anyone away and, of course, they were poor and paid him in chickens and what not. So I thought of a doctor as being a service provider…"

"I love my job. Sometimes I'll get a card from a person I treated as a child 20 years ago, and it always touches and amazes me that I was able to help a child in such a profound way."

"Since I had polio when I was a child, I've been around doctors my entire life. But I always wanted to go to medical school. My grandfather was a general practitioner."