A Beautiful Mind
Dr. Joe Tullis Reflects on 50 Years of Service, Curiosity, and Building a Legacy in Radiology
It is almost unheard of today to find someone who has been in a career for 50 years, let alone spend it with the same organization. Dr. Joe Tullis of the Baxter Health radiology department is one such individual.
“I have an inquisitive mind,” said Tullis, 82, to explain still being on the job with no plans to retire. “I’m very healthy, and my brain still works very well.”
In fact, Tullis’ mind is voracious in its appetite for learning and not just in his chosen profession. In addition to a fascination for medicine, Tullis professes interest in a wide range of subject matter.
“I tell my kids, and my friends know this, I plan on learning something every day of my life. Something new every day — that’s my goal,” he said. “I love archeology, ancient history and American Indians since I’ve got a little bit of American Indian ancestry. My fifth great-grandfather was listed in the 1837 Republic of Texas census as a Choctaw or Cherokee. They weren’t sure. He was probably both.”
For all of his career longevity, one might think Tullis’ initial foray into medicine was the result of a carefully orchestrated grand design on his part. It wasn’t. In fact, he insists it was quite the opposite, especially as it pertains to his medical specialty.
“I read an autobiography of Alfred Schweitzer when I was probably 14 years old,” he said. “I had the opportunity to live with an uncle by marriage for a year, who was a doctor. He was an orthopedist, and I saw what he did.”
True to his nature, his educational background revealed a mosaic of interests. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, he went back to college to finish pre-med studies while simultaneously completing master’s level work on Spanish literature.
“I was in the Navy reserve and they asked, ’What do you want to do?’” he said. “I planned on going back to the University of Texas to do surgery; that was my goal. But just for a lark I put down, oh, how about radiology at San Diego? I got it by some fluke — just luck, I guess.
“I also had been scheduled to go to Vietnam with a Marines unit. I’d gotten married, and my wife demanded that when they offered me this residency in San Diego that I take it. So, you never know how your life’s going to turn out. A lot of what we wind up doing is completely accidental.”
While the military offered what was considered state-of-the-art imaging technology at the time, it was still a long way from what Tullis and his department deal with today.
“State of the art back then was pretty primitive,” he said. “We had fluoroscopy, we had nuclear medicine, we had beginning of ultrasound CT, but MRI was only a research program at that time. I did have a federally funded research grant in ultrasound and nuclear medicine studying injuries to SEAL team members, but I gave up because I wanted to transfer it over to MRIs. It was coming on the scene. I was probably a fool for doing that.”
In 1974, Tullis started moonlighting with then-Baxter Regional Hospital, and when his Navy hitch was up two years later, he moved from Texas to Arkansas. If he thought the military was just finding its way into the latest radiology fields, what he found in Baxter County was truly starting from scratch.
“One of my fellow doctors at Corpus Christi was from Marshall (Arkansas). He told me, ’Hey, there’s a little hospital that’s growing and developing up there. You wanna look at it?’ I said, “Sure,’” he said. “One of my grandfathers was originally from Missouri and the Ozarks and my stepfather was from Chicago but always loved the Ozarks, and he had bought 40 acres up here when I was a little kid. I knew the area, coming here all my life.
“When I got here, it was very primitive, and I thought, ’What the heck have I got myself into?’ I thought, ’Well, I’ll just stay here, and I’ll build a good-quality radiology department,’ and with the help of several other doctors over the years, that’s exactly what we did.”
In the 1980s and 1990s, Tullis spearheaded efforts that made good on that goal, creating a department that rivaled healthcare systems several times its size. During his tenure, the hospital added MRI and CT and built a reputation for medical and operational excellence unheard of for a small hospital.
“We’ve been so short of staff the last three years that the field has kind of caught up to us, but five or 10 years ago, there wasn’t another small town in the country that had a better X-ray department than this one did — period,” he said.
Along the way, Tullis has operated under many titles, but said he prefers “worker” to them all, much preferring mentoring young physicians and serving patients than handling administrative responsibilities. He’s equally generous with his time in the community, serving as an auxiliary deputy with the local sheriff’s department and a physician consultant for the county’s inmate population.
As he begins his second half-century in medicine, he still enjoys feeding his curiosity and sharing what he’s learned with others, particularly when it comes to the commitment that comes with a medical license.
“I’m proud of the fact I have never taken anybody to small claims court for collections, never made anybody pay a bill in the 50 years I’ve practiced,” he said. “I was poor when I was a kid, and I swore that I would never harass any patient that needed my care.
“If I had one piece of advice for young doctors looking to build a long and successful career, it would be to work hard at your job and don’t worry about making money. You’ll still make plenty of money, and you’ll do a heck of a lot better job.”
