Medicine is ‘a good fit’ for Timberlake graduate

When he was a boy growing up at his family’s resort in Bayview, Ryan MacDonald never considered medicine as a career.

He learned about every job there was to learn at MacDonald’s Hudson Bay Resort, from groundskeeping to cooking, washing dishes and working with guests.

In his spare time he became a skilled juggler and magician and studied piano. He set his mind on going to Gonzaga and joined the ROTC so he could attend on scholarship.

He accomplished just about anything he put his mind to, said his father, Gary MacDonald.

So when Ryan MacDonald decided he wanted to go to medical school, it was no surprise to his family when he was accepted.

It was that determination, his parents said, that resulted in his acceptance to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., in 2005.

MacDonald and his parents agree: It also came down to a whole lot of luck.

He applied to 17 medical schools and interviewed at four before learning he was one of 42 applicants the Mayo Clinic chose from a field of 3,000.

“There are probably 10 excellent applicants for each person that gets accepted,” he said.

Now in his third year of medical school, the 25-year-old has been witness to medical miracles, including a heart transplant on a 4-year-old child.

He spent nearly 12 hours in the operating room as surgeons performed the life-saving surgery.

“That was a pretty remarkable experience,” he said. “This kid really had one foot in the grave.”

Though he’s not certain which medical specialty he’ll choose as a career, MacDonald said he’s interested in cardiovascular surgery, emergency medicine and congenital heart disease.

As a student at Timberlake High School, MacDonald was leaning toward a career in law. After participating in a mock trial, he changed his mind.

The courtroom seemed to have an air of too much conflict and adversity. He enrolled at Gonzaga University to study biology and English.

MacDonald decided to pursue medicine during his freshman year while volunteering in the emergency room at Sacred Heart.

He started the hospital’s Clown Club and used his talents in juggling and magic to entertain pediatric patients, said his mother, Mary MacDonald.

Ryan MacDonald describes his family’s resort as more than a business.

“It’s a service organization,” he said, “especially the way my dad runs it. It’s about customer service.”

Having grown up in that environment on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille, MacDonald said he came to enjoy working with people.

He found the same enjoyment working with patients at the hospital.

“Medicine seemed like a good fit,” he said.