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Your physician is wrong, as separate from just the Vitamin-D mechanism, greater lifetime sun exposure is correlated with many net-positive health outcomes, especially with regard to cancer & cardiovascular health, that outweigh the risks of skin cancer.

Not necessarily. It's going to depend on your age, skin color and skin condition as to whether a pill beats sun.

But generally being outdoors, on a grey winters day in the northern hemisphere, with just your face exposed, and having darker skin, for an hour, is not going to get you enough D.

The recommended intake for vitamin d everywhere is less than 1,000 IU.

30 min of sun exposure will give you the equivalent of 10,000 to 20,000 IU.

If you moderate your sun exposure and are responsible, there is no reason you can't use the sun to your advantage.

If you don't you're likely to become vitamin d deficient listening to that person.

There is no evidence that moderate daily sun exposure increases mortality risk. Sunlight exposure also has other health benefits beyond vitamin D, such as stimulating nitric oxide production.