An Interview with Trey Washburn

The new Medical Society president calls himself an old fashioned country doctor, and sees his job as nudging things in a different direction.

J.O. Where are you from? Where did you go to school? Where does "Trey" come from?

T.W. I was born June 18, 1947 in Stockton. I went to UOP then to UCD med school. I did two years of residency at UCD and finished at UCSF.

I'm called "Trey" because I was the third "Earl" in a row.

My grandfather was A. Earl Washburn, but everybody called him Earl. My father was Earl J. Washburn, and I'm the third Earl, so my family called me Trey from childhood. I didn't even know my name was Earl until I got to school and the teachers called me Earl.

J.O. Married? Any kids?

T.W. I've been married since 1970 to my wife, Marian, who is the mayor of Placerville. She pulls down $238 a month as a stipend, so it really is public service. We have two sons, neither of whom is involved in medicine.

J.O. What's your practice setting?

T.W. I'm one of five pediatricians in the El Dorado Pediatric Medical Group. I've always done general pediatrics.

J.O. You're pretty busy in organized medicine: local, CMA and AMA. How do your partners feel about the time that you spend away from the practice?

T.W. I'm proud to say that they are all members of the Society and are supportive of my endeavors, even on AMA business.

J.O. You've had a lot of print media exposure. Have you established yourself as a sort of guru regarding medical economics and politics?

T.W. No, I'm just a regular old-fashioned country doctor. I'd like to be a guru, but I'm not. The article in the New York Times was quite an experience. I'm still an e-mail pen pal with the lady who did the article. She was a real challenge. Great questions, very knowledgeable and willing to learn. It was almost like spending a whole day with a psychiatrist! She came to California to do a piece on the impact of managed care on the average doc, did several preliminary interviews, and settled on me as her subject. The Bee ran the article in the "Forum" section, and it led to contacts by the Wall Street Journal, Medical Economics and Modern Medicine.

J.O. What are your goals as president?

T.W. I want to help the Society get ready for the future. It's bound to be turbulent and a rough ride for a while, but I really believe that the Society will be more relevant and useful to the average doctor in the future than it is now, and I want to help prepare for that. The Society, like a lot of organizations, is sort of like a supertanker, plowing along, hard to steer...takes a long time to change course or direction. But, if you give it a nudge, the effect is magnified, the nudge makes a big, big difference in the ultimate destination.

I think we can and will make hard decisions for change and get things done correctly. A recent example was the decision to divest ourselves of the library. Very difficult decisions, made fairly and correctly. There are a lot more to come. Thank goodness we are in good financial shape. That gives us some leverage in many ways.

J.O. What is your favorite book?

T.W. Man's Search For Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. Hands down.

J.O. Movie?

T.W. 2001.

J.O. Vacation spot?

T.W. Vienna, Austria. It's a beautiful city, and I'm fascinated by the place where a number of great men came together, more or less by chance in the latter half of the 19th century, and created an intellectual and artistic ferment that influenced the 20th century.

J.O. What is your favorite leisure time activity? Any sports?

T.W. Writing, mostly on social-medical issues. I've had some articles published. I'm actually looking forward to writing my president's messages for this magazine. And I enjoy basketball. I once played it, not very well, and I love to watch it. It's great to see the Kings doing well.

For the last four years I've studied Chen style T'ai Chi. I take classes twice per week. I can see that I have a long way to go to master this art, but it is an important part of my life and one small aspect of understanding my approach to things.

John.Ostrich@kp.org