ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. – As service members here at Ellsworth AFB start families of their own, a dedicated and professional approach to the health and well-being of children is greatly needed.
That need has recently been answered with the arrival of Capt. Megan McDonald, a pediatrician with the 28th Medical Group. She provides a unique medical service and top notch care for the children of our nation's warriors by monitoring the milestones they undergo through their growth and development.
“I truly love taking care of children and their families,” McDonald said. “Pediatrics is a unique field in the sense that you aren’t caring for the child in a vacuum, but you're working hand-in-hand with the parents to do what is best for their child.”
McDonald graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2008, after which she attended medical school at Georgetown University School of Medicine, graduating in 2012. She then pursued pediatric residency training from 2012 to 2015 at Dayton Children’s Hospital at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, the nation's only fully integrated military-civilian residency training program.
“Wright Patterson was an excellent training location because we were in a combined civilian and Air Force program and worked with Dayton Children’s Hospital,” McDonald said. “This gave me a tremendous amount of exposure to a wide range of patients in the newborn nursery, in-patient, and out-patient realms of pediatrics. It was a very busy residency program, but also very rewarding.”
McDonald then stayed for a year as chief resident and worked as a staff pediatrician with the 47 members of the residency program to help facilitate their education, as well as scheduling their rotations. McDonald also served as a liaison with her co-chief resident on the civilian side to act as a go-between for the residents and other staff physicians. It was a busy and unique job, one that really helped her grow as a doctor and an officer, she says.
The 28th MDG faced a potential three-month vacancy in its sole pediatrician position early last spring, yet utilized all available resources to ensure the best possible pediatric care capability was maintained through this summer transition. The Air Force Global Strike Command Surgeon’s Office supported the 28th MDG’s request for dual-pediatrician manning assists to shorten this vacancy to three weeks. Pediatric-credentialed Family Health providers were then identified to care for our pediatric population of newborns through adolescents. Finally, in conjunction with these efforts, the 28th MDG worked closely with the Air Force Personnel Center in search of the highest qualified, earliest available, active-duty Pediatrician to bring McDonald to Ellsworth.
“Our mission is to provide great care for kids and make sure their health is being maintained. If we are giving good care and taking care of the family and the kids, it’s easier for the parent to focus on their job,” Stroud explained. “Our job is to take care of families so that the active duty member can be the best that they can be at their job.”
Due to the large pediatric population and the need for some children to have special coordination, McDonald says a pediatrician will likely be a child's primary care provider. She believes Ellsworth is quite lucky to have an amazing family health provider team to assist in this endeavor.
“Children are so resilient - whether it be adapting to a new home every three to four years, dealing with a parent's deployment or rebounding from various medical illnesses, it’s awesome to care for such a strong population,” McDonald stated. “Caring for kids gives me an excuse to stay up to date on the latest children’s TV shows and books. Reading Harry Potter becomes necessary ‘homework!’”
McDonald says that although she now has a considerable skillset in this field, it is because of her previous experience and practice at her previous base that has helped lead to what she can now do.
“Wright Patterson AFB was an awesome place to train and hone my skills as a general pediatrician, but it is such a large base that sometimes continuity with patients was a challenge,” McDonald explained. “I look forward to getting to know my patients well and being able to anticipate their needs. Being here in a smaller community allows me to more easily advocate for my patients.”