People often use the words “physician” and “doctor” interchangeably, but Dr. John Phillips believes there is an important difference between the two.
“Once you have finished your education and training, you are a physician,” says Phillips, who is CEO of Stone Oak Family Doctors at 225 E. Sonterra Blvd. “But once [you] take those extra steps -- interacting with patients [and] becoming part of their lives – you are a doctor.”
One example of an extra step taken by Phillips and his partners is they all see their own patients in the hospital. Many other practices opt for hospitalists to take care of their patients. “When our patients are the most sick, we are there for them,” Phillips says. “It does mean we have to work long hours. We may have to go to the hospital before or during work. It’s part of what it means to be a doctor.”
When Phillips first went to Stone Oak in 1994, it was quite a different place. There were wide-open fields without fences. He had no way of knowing at the time that he would be located at the heart of what some people call Med Center II.
His most senior partner, Dr. Wendy Nguyen, joined him eight years ago. “It was a no-brainer,” says Nguyen, an immigrant from Vietnam who shares a “do-whatever-it-takes” attitude and a sense of humor with Phillips. “He jokes and breaks the tension. He keeps us in stitches. He is the Jerry Seinfeld of Stone Oak Medicine.”
Nguyen is also a competitive ballroom dancer. “It is a good way to manage stress,” she explains. “It is a great mode of self-expression. You do a million things in a millisecond. Medicine is a demanding career.”
Dr. Stephanie Hoefle certainly understands the demands of the profession. She’s married to an ER doctor, and the couple has two children: Sophia, 11, and Thomas, 9. “I love this group,” she says. “Dr. Phillips stays on top of the business side so we can focus on the patients.”
Hoefle considers this to be her dream job. “I like learning about the [individual’s] past and present [and] trying to make their lives better,” Hoefle says. For example, Hoefle has a special interest in bioidentical hormones and is guiding women through menopause.
Hoefle met Dr. Tamara Dominguez during residency. Like Hoefle, Dominguez works part-time to take care of her three children: Robert, 11, Maggie and Mikayla, both 8. Dominguez likes the “detective work” of medicine (infections, genetic disorders, etc.), which is not surprising for a woman who met her husband over a cadaver at Gross Anatomy in medical school.
Dr. Rohan Coutinho is the newest physician to the group, and he says he likes the dynamics. Coutinho stayed in San Antonio after completing his residency in the city. He and his wife, a teacher, have a 3-year-old son named Gavin. He says when one of his patients leaves the room, “I don’t want them to feel like their questions weren’t answered.” Coutinho’s partners say he has a calmness that patients appreciate.
Clearly, the physicians at Stone Oak Family Doctors are a well-rounded bunch, and that is by design. Phillips believes it’s key to have chemistry in the workplace.
“It’s easy to find a doctor with good credentials,” Phillips says, “but I try to find people who are cordial, polite and congenial.”
A Saturday morning clinic and a doctor available each day to see same-day appointments or walk-ins also adds to the appeal of Stone Oak Family Doctors.
When he’s not in the office, Phillips can be found riding his Harley, a love of his since his teenage years. He’s well aware that others in the medical profession refer to him as “donorcycles,” but says he rides “with a tremendous respect for the danger.”
He also has a tremendous respect for his patients. “I always sit down and talk eye-to-eye, and they have my undivided attention,” says Phillips, who wanted to be a doctor at age 6 and is reminded constantly of the rewards of his profession, especially when he is in the hospital seeing a patient.
“I have had a lot of patients [who] -- no matter how bad they feel -- reach their hand up, and they say, ‘doc, I appreciate you being here,’” he says.
For more information, log on to www.sofdpa.com.
Office Location:
225 E. Sonterra Blvd., Ste. 100
San Antonio, Texas 78258
