Dr. Rogsbert F. Phillips

A native Georgian, Dr. Phillips American College of Surgeons specializing in breast surgery. She graduated from Columbia University School of Medicine in 1977 and in 1982 became the second woman and first and only African-American woman to successfully complete Emory University’s surgical program.

Dr. Phillips heads Metro Surgical Associates, a community-based surgical practice with offices in downtown Atlanta and Lithonia, Georgia. For over 23 years she has practiced medicine in metropolitan Atlanta, serving a diverse patient population. In addition to her community-based surgical practice, Dr. Phillips hospital affiliations include DeKalb Medical Center, DeKalb Medical Center at Hallandale, Emory University at Crawford Long, and South Fulton Hospital.

A pioneering physician, she remains at the forefront of breast cancer research and is performing the groundbreaking procedure ductal lavage and breast duct endoscopy. Dr. Phillips’ achievements are vast. She has received scores of awards and honors that attest to her professional excellence and reputation as a first rate physician.  However, it may be that she is as widely known for her community service and specific work in the fight against breast cancer. In 1989, Dr. Phillips founded Sisters…by Choice, Inc. (SBC), a non-profit organization that began as a breast cancer support group committed to education, counseling and providing emotional support to breast cancer patients and their families. Since its inception, SBC has evolved into an organization that has provided a myriad of services to the public.  

Dr. Phillips has also provided internship programs for high school and college students who are interested in the medical profession.   She enjoys teaching and feels it is a responsibility of all doctors to mentor and help the next generation of health care professionals learn the art of medicine and pass on the knowledge of breast and general surgery.   She holds a clinical professorship with the department of surgery at Emory University School of medicine and Morehouse School of medicine.  She also partners with Graduate Medical Consultant Group and Graduate Education of Atlanta to teach and train medical students from St. Christopher in Bedfordshire, St. Matthew’s School of Medicine in the Grand Cayman, British West Indies, and University of Saint Eustatius in Netherlands, Antilles. Students are able to obtain hands-on experience in a highly professional setting under Dr. Phillip’s personal tutelage.

Over the years, Dr. Phillips has served on several community service boards, various healthcare committees, and she is actively involved in clinical trials and research projects.  Her professional affiliations include the American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, Association of Women Surgeons, Georgia Surgical Society, Medical Association of Georgia, American Society of Breast Surgeons, National Medical Association, Atlanta Medical Associates and the Medical Association of Atlanta.

Electing not to limit her work to the United States, Dr. Phillips has carried the breast cancer fight to the former Soviet Union and as a member of Zenzala, was part of a missionary team to South Africa, and Antigua in the Leeward Islands.