CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — Betty Phillips first graduated from nursing school in 1956, working for 40 years as a nurse and returning to school to earn two additional degrees in 1976 and 1986.

But after a brief retirement in 1996, Phillips returned to the UVA Health plastic surgery clinic four years later and hasn’t left since. Now, at the age of 90, she still comes into the clinic every Monday and typically one Friday a month to do what she loves.

“I don’t realize that I’m 90, I guess,” Phillips joked. “I still think as long as I can offer something, I’d like to be here.”

Phillips is not only still working but is also still active in general, exercising every day and walking every evening to keep herself healthy. She said doing so, along with a healthy diet and lots of vitamins, has been her secret to a long life.

Nursing has been Phillips’ chosen career path since she was four years old, when she watched her grandmother take care of people in their neighborhood.

“She was not a nurse,” Phillips explained. “They had a large farm, but she seemed to take care of the farm hands and the people, and they called her nurse.”

The younger Phillips’ first patient was a doll, and since then she has gone on to provide care to a countless number of people.

“I love to see patients,” she said. “I love to see them improve. I love to be part of their life.”

After beginning her career at Blue Ridge Hospital, a UVA affiliated hospital at that time, Phillips eventually came to UVA Health, where she has spent the bulk of her career.

“I like UVA,” she said. “It’s a teaching hospital. It’s one of the best. I’ve always enjoyed all the people here. I’ve always enjoyed all the people here. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve done a lot. I never wanted to be anyplace else.”

Phillips said coming in every Monday is the one thing she looks forward to, besides her husband, three children and six grandchildren.

“I had a wonderful husband, I had good kids,” she said. “But work has always been an important part of that journey.”

During her brief retirement, Phillips said she missed nursing and felt like she was missing something.

“I have one philosophy about retirement,” she said. “By the time you’re old enough to retire, your kids are grown. It’s just you and your husband, and by 8:30 in the morning, you’ve done everything you need to do until supper, and you’re wondering, ‘What in the world is important enough for me to do today?'”

Since returning, Phillips has stretched her career to 70 years, celebrating that milestone in May one week after her 90th birthday.

But how long does she plan to keep working? Despite her kids often asking that question, she doesn’t know.

“I tell everyone as long as I remember my sign in,” she joked.

For now, Phillips is continuing to work in what she calls “the greatest profession you could have.”