Listening, Learning, Loyalty Are the Keys to Better Care

Dr. Stacie Macdonald has built her OB/GYN career one human connection at a time.

In Dr. Stacie Macdonald’s practice at the Washington Township Medical Foundation in Fremont, California, there’s plenty of technology.

“One of the great things is the ease of access for my patients to primary care and specialists,” Dr. Macdonald explains. “We all share the same electronic medical records and any of the physicians can look at my notes. We can see each other’s lab reports and medical imaging studies. Patients can also view their results online and email me with questions.”

But the most sophisticated tool Dr. Macdonald brings to her practice is simple human compassion. “You have to help your patient open up. I focus on letting my patients talk and give me their story.”

With 14 years as an OG/GYN, Dr. Macdonald knows that discussing intimate issues requires building the patient’s trust to get at the truth. “It’s hard to make a personal connection while typing notes into the computer at the same time. With some patients, you just have to close the computer. People need to feel like they are being listened to," she says.

No wonder her patients love her. “There’s nothing like working with a woman through pregnancy – there are so many unexpected parts to it. It’s a joy to help people through it. I have patients I’ve been working with for a decade or more. I see them year after year, watch their families grow. Time has just flown.”

Dr. Macdonald became interested in medicine at an early age. “In middle school, I took a first aid class and really liked it.” But she didn’t go into medicine right away. After graduating from Binghamton University, Dr. Macdonald worked for Teach for America, in Compton, near Los Angeles. The highly selective program assigns recent college graduates to low-income, underperforming schools. She also worked in behavioral therapy, but was soon drawn back to medicine. She enrolled in medical school at St. George’s University on the Caribbean island of Grenada, and did two years of clinical rotations in New York and New Jersey. In her third year of residency, she returned to the West Indies for an elective rotation. “In a Caribbean practice, doctors have very limited resources. But they do a tremendous amount with what they have. The dedication of the doctors is really admirable," she says.

This mix of experiences was great for learning. “If you’re a young doctor looking at residency programs, do what I did," Dr. Macdonald advises. “Aim to get training at a place where you’ll see everything. I got to see an enormous variety of cases in a high-risk tertiary care referral center. You learn a wide range of techniques from operating and on working with different people.”

And just as Dr. Macdonald does with her patients, she builds loyalty with her colleagues. Dr. Macdonald is excited about TeamSTEPPS®, a program adapted from the U.S. military. “It helps you learn how to best utilize the resources of your entire team. It’s so much better for patient safety. I’m really proud of the time and effort our hospital and foundation has put into making it patient first."

“It’s really important to work as a team in the operating room, and especially in labor and delivery. Working in a silo is not as effective, it’s not as fun, and, most importantly, it’s not as good for the patient.”

Dr. Macdonald has been with CAP for 14 years. “I really like the culture within CAP. They say they ‘do good things for doctors’, and that’s truly the driving focus at every meeting. They really want to know what they can do for the doctors they work with that will be positive, cost effective, and educational. That culture makes a difference.”

Dr. Macdonald and her husband Ron have been married for 20 years and enjoy hiking and camping with their two children, Connor and Chloe. Their wedding anniversary is easy to remember, and guarantees fireworks: it’s the 4th of July. "My husband was in his PhD program while I was in residency. We found a great place in New Rochelle, New York, on the water and had a great time.”

In her free time, Dr. Macdonald does yoga, crocheting, gardening, and photography. “But mostly, I spent as much time as I can enjoying the kids, my dog, and my cat.”