Mentor: "I was very close to John Donoghue Sr. In fact, he was the reason for my coming to Hagerstown. We were in the Navy. He was an assistant chief of the (Navy) training program when I was a resident in Philadelphia. ... He practiced what I considered good medicine. That was the reason I joined him."
Favorite part of your job: "Dealing with people."
Least favorite part of your job: "Some of the bureaucratic nonsense."
Biggest challenge of your job: "Just the practice of medicine in its entirety is a challenge. Just keeping up with what's going on in the world."
Fantasy job: "I'm pretty happy with what I've done."
Favorite music: "I like the music of the '40s and '50s."
Last book read: "Jefferson's Great Gamble: The Remarkable Story of Jefferson, Napoleon and the Men Behind the Louisiana Purchase" by Charles A. Cerami.
Last movie seen: "Seabiscuit."
Hobbies: "Golfing and fishing."
What was your first job? "I worked as a lifeguard for about eight years for the state of Pennsylvania on Lake Erie."
Favorite quote: His father, a schoolteacher, kept the following quotes above Plavcan's bed when he was a child.
"When I was lad of 17 the old man was so dumb I could hardly stand to have him around. Now that I'm 21, it's amazing what he's learned in four years." - Mark Twain.
"Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln.
If you could meet anyone in history, who would it be? "I suppose Abe Lincoln. Because Abe was a man that faced a lot of adversity and he was a man of principle. He was a man of character and his character prevailed. He let the chips fall where they may."
