Robert Alan Hewko

A fixture at VGH for close to 30 years as head of the Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry Service, and UBC Clinical Professor, Dr. Robert Hewko (Rob to many) epitomized thoughtful patient care and teaching excellence. He left behind a legacy almost as large as his larger-than-life personality. Rob’s wit, wisdom and clinical acuity left their mark on his many students: residents (of all specialties), nurses, medical students and others who now carry on his special brand of medical psychiatry.

Rob was born in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, third in a family of four boys. He excelled (sometimes irritatingly so) at pretty much anything he set his mind to. At the University of Alberta where he did his undergrad in biochemistry – he enrolled in one sociology class and ran shrieking – a prof recommended medical school, where Rob found his calling. He worked on drilling rigs up north to pay for it – perhaps that was where he learned to think on his feet.

Almost before he had finished his residency in Vancouver, VGH asked Rob to be the clinical director of the tiny C/L Service, then somewhat of an afterthought in the evolving, high tech, quaternary-care hospital. But over time, as Dr. Hewko became the go-to person for complex patient problems, C/L grew into a powerhouse.

There were distinguished awards and accolades that Rob rarely noticed. What mattered was good medicine: treating pain, delirium, pseudo-seizures, drilling down into diagnostic dilemmas and other patient puzzles. He was never intimidated by anyone or convinced that imaging and tests constituted the last word on anything. (“Read the nursing notes!” he’d snap.) You had to think. Nursing staff appreciated his support and patients relaxed in his calm, thoughtful presence. Medicine after all is not only about cure but care.

For years Rob was on call 24/7 but he found time to read tales of derring-do: science fiction/fantasy, thrillers, mysteries. He enjoyed science fiction (Star Trek, Dr. Who) and watched movies – good and bad. He appreciated The Lion in Winter and other classics as much as Attack of the Crab Monsters. His wife of 32 years, Susan Baxter, with whom he would argue about arcane medical details deep into the night, dragged him on exotic holidays (Egypt, Greece, Provence, Tuscany) but they also travelled closer to home (Tofino, Kelowna, San Francisco, Vegas). Rob was actually an ace gambler (he once won $500 playing blackjack in a casino in Monte Carlo); but he also understood that you had to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, and know when to walk away.

...which he did, all too soon.