Marco Terwiel, MB, MD, CCFP, FCFP, graduated in the Netherlands in 1961. He practised as a family physician in the US for 5 years before moving, in 1968, to Maple Ridge, BC. He is past chief of staff and medical director of Ridge Meadows Hospital, and past president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

What profession might you have pursued, if not for medicine?
Teacher.

Which talent would you most like to have?
Sculpture.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Building my own home with my own hands from scratch. From design to finished product, learning all the necessary trades along the way, fulfilling a lifelong dream.

Who are your heroes?
Churchill, Thoreau, Bohr, Cervantes, Saavedra.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Steadily emptying my rather daunting bucket list.

What is your greatest fear?
A religion-triggered third world war.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Brutal honesty.

What characteristic do your favorite patients share?
A sense of humor.

On what occasion do you lie?
I don’t (anymore).

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
You are too fat.

What medical advance do you most anticipate?
Stem-cell technology.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Forthrightness.

What do you most value in your colleagues?
Willingness to go the extra mile.

Who are your favorite writers?
Dick Francis, Jules Verne, Ken Follett, Ivan Turgenev.

What is your greatest regret?
Having spent too little time with my children when they were young.

What is your motto?
Reason and compassion.