Mercer University School of Medicine graduate John T. (Temp) Phillips IV was recognized at the national meeting of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, earning the top award for his presentation titled “Not All Salads are Good for Your Heart.”
The case study was based on Phillips’ treatment of an Erlanger Health System patient in Chattanooga who developed polkweed toxicity after ingesting polk salad, a diet staple of many rural Southerners. Although polkweed has a poisonous root, its green stalks — called polk salad — are often boiled and eaten.
Phillips earned the top award out of 86 presenters at the conference. He had previously won a similar award at a Tennessee physicians conference.
Phillips graduated from Mercer University School of Medicine in 2000 and has been selected chief resident for Erlanger Hospital’s Internal Medicine Residency Program in Chattanooga, Tenn., beginning July 2003.
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