Dr. Miller says goodbye to patients
When Dr. Ron Miller began practicing
medicine he enjoyed the challenge of diagnosing his patients, but
as the years have passed he’s become more interested in getting to
know those patients personally.
“I’m going to miss my patients a lot,”
he said. Miller, a physician with Glacier Medical Associates, is
retiring after about 40 years practicing medicine.
“What I enjoy has evolved over time,”
he said. “At the beginning it was the challenge of the practice and
of the medicine. I still try to do a good job of diagnosis, but now
it’s about the relationships with patients more so than the
scientific aspect.”
Miller’s younger years and then his
later medical training would steer his path into medicine and being
a family physician. The discipline was just starting as he
graduated from medical school.
“I hadn’t decided when I started
college if I wanted to go into the ministry,” he said. “I enjoyed
chemistry and biology and I wanted to help people. That’s what
pushed me into medicine.”
Miller grew up in Tri-Cities, Wash.,
where he said there wasn’t a family physician. He did his training
in Omak, Wash., learning more about the impact the type of medicine
could have.
“It’s difficult because there’s a lot
of reading to keep up on,” he said. “It also has many rewards. You
follow patients and develop a lot closer relationships.”
Miller said family medicine gives
doctors a unique opportunity to treat patients for an extended
period of time.
“I’ve gotten to deliver babies and now
I’m delivering their babies,” he said. “Being a part of people’s
lives for the last 40 years, it’s been a privilege.”
During much of his career, Miller has
served as a professor instructing medical students for WWAMI, a
partnership between the University of Washington School of Medicine
and Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. As part of their training
University of Washington medical students spend time studying at
clinics.
Miller estimates that he, and the other
doctors at his clinic, has taught roughly 400 students. He
established the six-week clinic program here in 1975.
He said the program has been beneficial
to students even if their plans don’t include family medicine.
“It gives them an appreciation for what
a primary care physician does,” he said.
The program also benefits the doctors
involved.
“I makes you keep abreast of what’s
new,” he said. “(The students) ask ‘Why are you doing that’ and it
makes you think. It’s nice to serve as a role model.”
Miller has had many career highlights
during the years. He was named the Montana Family Physician of the
Year in 2008. He has served as chief of staff at North Valley
Hospital.
“That was humbling and an honor to be
recognized by my peers for patient care,” he said.
He has served on medical boards at the
state and national level including the American Board of Family
Practice, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Utah
Medical Insurance Association board; he is a professor with the
University of Washington School of Medicine and serves on the
American Academy of Family Physicians.
Miller’s oldest son, Jon, joined him at
the practice a few years ago.
“It’s been really a honor to work
shoulder to shoulder with him,” Miller said.
In addition to his practice and his
work on medical boards, Miller volunteers with the Shepherd’s Hand
Free Clinic. He praises the clinic for its work.
“It has filled a real niche for people
who fall between the cracks,” he said. “It’s been a real community
service.”
Miller retires from Glacier Medical
Associates July 1. He plans to spend time with his
grandchildren.
“I’m looking forward to spending more
time fishing, hunting and skiing,” he said. “Maybe I’ll do some
short-time mission work.”