For 34 years, Dr. Sally Macdonald has been there for Yukoners, whether in the emergency room at Whitehorse General Hospital or her practice at Whitehorse Medical Services, or sometimes just by phone to speak with her patients.

And, she says, it's been an honour.

"It's a privilege to share their lives,” she said in an interview this week as she reflected on her impending retirement. "It's a privilege to have that enrichment.”

Last week, she finished up her last appointments at her practice.

She will now focus on paper work that has to be done before she's officially retired.

In speaking of her career, though, it's her patients she focused on most.

As a doctor, Macdonald said, her patients have had an impact in so many different ways as she's shared intimate moments with them.

Macdonald is well-known for her patient-driven care approach, and it's something that she's always believed strongly in.

As she pointed out, patients bring a lot of their own knowledge and have helped her to look outside the box at different treatment options that work for them.

Originally from Ontario, Macdonald did her residency in Edmonton before she and Bob Zimmerman, her husband and also a doctor, went to work in Inuvik serving that community as well as flying in to a number of other communities in the North.

Perhaps the most well-known of Macdonald's cases happened there when a man was brought in frozen and declared dead on arrival two days before Christmas.

The man was a son of an MLA in the area and had been out partying the night before, passing out outside in the cold.

He was brought in "frozen solid” and DOA until about five or six hours later, when he was completely resuscitated. The story made it to the national news and even ended up in the U.S. publication The National Inquirer.

"We just did our job,” Macdonald said.

Her work in Inuvik also took her to Old Crow for clinics, where she heard doctors were being sought in Whitehorse.

It wasn't long after that, she and her husband received a call about taking on jobs in Whitehorse and moved to the territory, where they have remained and are planning to stay as they move on to retirement.

When they moved here, though, they had no idea how long they would remain.

"It seemed to just fit who we were,” Macdonald said.

While there have certainly been "ups and downs” over her 3 1/2 decades in Whitehorse, she said, it's a community she plans to remain very involved with as she enters the next phase of her life.

Macdonald did spend a bit of time overseas practising tropical medicine. She always kept her home here, though, and returned to her practice.

As she pointed out, she's one of about six doctors in the territory who have a diploma in tropical medicine.

"I love medicine,” she said, adding that it's likely an overall interest in rural medicine that has spurred so many local doctors to also work in tropical medicine.

Along with her practice and covering shifts in the hospital's emergency ward, over the years, Macdonald has worked in obstetrics, neonatal and other specific areas.

That has meant she has seen the full circle of life during her career, and she concedes it hasn't always been easy.

Part of the learning process is learning to grieve, she said, recalling times when a patient had passed away and a few weeks later she finds herself feeling upset or grumpy, only to realize she too is experiencing grief.

"That is a learning process for all of us,” she said.

Over the years, she said, she's learned how to deal with grief. And that doesn't mean putting her emotions on the shelf.

And the health care field has changed dramatically in the last 34 years, she noted.

Certainly, she said, it is much more complex, but in many areas, including palliative care and medical management of chronic illnesses, a much better job is being done.

"It's a broad spectrum of treatment,” she said.

While there's still a long way to go she hopes the patient-centred, collaborative health care approach will continue to grow.

"It takes time to evolve that,” she said.

While some changes have been gradual, others have come almost immediately.

Almost as soon as seatbelt use was legislated in the territory in 1985, the number of middle-of-the-night emergency surgeries plummeted.

"It was amazing,” she said.

The move toward prevention has also had positive impacts, she said.

While there are still cases out, Macdonald said, fewer people are taking up smoking.

As well, designated drivers or finding other alternatives to drinking and driving have become the norm for many party-goers.

Macdonald also praises campaigns encouraging people to be more active, noting that has led to a healthier community overall.

Now in her 60s, Macdonald plans to stay involved in the medical community to some extent.

Generally, although she "absolutely” loves her work, she'd like time to do other things and perhaps focus on her own health, practising what she's been counselling her own patients for so many years.

Patients, she said, have been "so supportive” of her decision, and though change can be difficult, they have wished her well in her retirement.

Over the next few years, Macdonald is predicting good things for Yukon health care.

A number of Yukoners who are Outside studying in various health care fields are getting set to return home for their careers.

Already, she said, a number of occupational therapists, nurses and others are choosing to return to the territory to work.

A home-grown Yukoner has taken over Macdonald's practice, which means none of her long-time patients have been "orphaned” as a result of her retirement.

Dr. Keddy Adams is now practising out of Whitehorse Medical Services, and will also be continuing with Macdonald's outreach clinics.