Renaissance Man

By Katherine Purcell

He’s a husband and a father. He’s a piano man, partial to his baby grand piano and standards from the 1940s and ‘50s. He’s a published author and contributes articles to medical journals. He’s a poet and an accomplished painter, a philanthropist and a banker. He’s a teacher and a friend, and, for the past 50 years, A. Earl Mgebroff, M.D., has been practicing family medicine in Yoakum, Texas. He’s been practicing medicine since before family medicine was called family medicine.

"Few have as many talents and fewer still use them as effectively," says TAFP Executive Director Jim White. "I believe his ability to combine and use all these gifts are a driving force behind his many successes." Is it any wonder that White calls him a Renaissance man?

Dr. Mgebroff is flattered by the label, but maintains that these extracurricular activities are for fun. “I enjoy a lot of things. In fact, there was a time when I had an inner-debate about going into music versus medicine,” he says. “I finally decided that the only way that I can do both is do medicine as a profession and music as a hobby. I have tried to keep up with the music.”

His musical talent helped pay the bills along the way, when he played in dance bands on summer breaks from college and medical school to help supplement his GI bill.

Doodling on scraps of paper while talking on the phone helped him discover his artistic potential. “The girls in the office, for about two years, they pulled the scraps out of the trash, ironed them and made up scrapbooks,” Mgebroff says. “They told me that I should do something with it.”

The doodling became painting when his daughter started taking art classes. Mgebroff credits an artist neighbor for mentoring his painting education. “I still enjoy painting on Sunday afternoons,” he says.

He donates some of his oil paintings to charities like the Blue Bonnet Youth Ranch, which helps abused and neglected children, and the TAFP Foundation auctioned an Mgebroff original as part of the 2003 silent auction held during Annual Session. Both AAFP and TAFP have used his paintings on their Christmas greeting cards in years past.

Don’t let his hobbies fool you though, because medicine is Dr. Mgebroff’s first love. “I always wanted to go into medicine. Practicing medicine is a wonderful rewarding profession. People place their lives in your hands; you try to do the best you can when people have that confidence. It is its own reward,” he says. The doctor is committed to the welfare of the people in Yoakum. “A community is more than bricks and mortar,” he says. He should know. He estimates that he has delivered over 2,500 babies in Yoakum, which include babies, their babies and their grandchildren.

This allows him an advantage, explains Mrs. Mgebroff. “You get to know people in a small town. You know what they do, and that gives you lots of information. It helps you treat the whole person. Ultimately, I think that they get better medicine.”

Mgebroff has been practicing medicine with his partner, Dr. David Watson for 46 years. Watson says the two have learned to trust and rely upon one another over that time. What’s the secret to practicing together for so long? “We’ve learned to tolerate each other’s peculiarities. Doctors are peculiar people,” Watson says.

The citizens of Yoakum are very appreciative of their longtime family physician, and many of them recently collaborated with Mgebroff’s family and friends to celebrate 50 years of loyal medical service to Yoakum and its surrounding communities with an appreciation reception held on July 18, 2004.

Judge Ronald “Ronnie” L. Leck and the Lavaca County Commissioners Court, the governing body of Lavaca County, passed a resolution honoring Mgebroff. “He’s been a very important part of the community for the past 50 years. He’s a shining example of what a doctor should be and is. We were very happy to honor him with a resolution,” he said.

Mayor Annie Rodriguez said that the City of Yoakum also passed a resolution honoring Dr. Mgebroff’s service to the community. Dr. Mgebroff says that the reception blew him away. “When they reward you for something you enjoy, that’s just the icing on the cake. People are gracious and appreciative of everything you do. I think it’s more difficult in a city and I think that it’s very special in a small town,” he says.

Mgebroff was part of the first group of general practitioners to take the two-day exam to become board-certified in family practice medicine when it became a medical specialty in 1971. He is proud to be part of the first medical specialty that required re-certification in order to practice medicine.

Throughout his career, Mgebroff has been a leader in medicine. He served as TAFP President in 1988. He has served as TAFP’s delegate to the AAFP Congress of Delegates, as a member of the TAFPPAC Board, as a member of the TAFP Foundation Board of Trustees, and as a mentor to students and residents interested in family practice.

Mgebroff served for 15 years on the Yoakum school board and for 18 years on the Board of Regents of Texas Lutheran University. In addition, he has worked with 30 medical students and residents over the years, helping them complete a preceptorship, in his practice.

These days, he is active on the medical staff at Yoakum Community Hospital, where he continues to serve as the Chair of the Primary Care Residency Advisory Committee.