Just as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s humanitarian work went beyond the church pulpit, the city of Surprise 10th annual Dr. MLK Jr. Day of Celebration & Service keynote speaker Christopher T. Pullins, a board-certified family medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic, noted how caring for his patients and others in the community extends beyond the office exam rooms.
“My patients are like my family members,” said Pullins, a Surprise resident who is a family and church-going man, serving as the Mayo Clinic Family Medicine Department chair for the Glendale site.
Pullins spoke of the importance for him during his career to be compassionate enough about his patients to “step outside of the office,” be with them occasionally during difficult stages including doing home visits and sitting beside hospice patients in the past, which is something primary care doctors are not expected to do except in olden days. However, he wants to show that he cares, especially when it matters most.
