Growing up, Dr. Ryan W. Day, was continually inspired by his hard-working and compassionate mother. As a clinical psychologist, he saw first-hand how deeply she impacted her patients’ lives. Frequently she was stopped in public and patients would enumerate the numerous ways she had helped them. Seeing the impact she had in healthcare, combined with her unwavering work ethic, Dr. Day was inspired to follow her footsteps into medicine.
As Dr. Day finished his B.S studies at the University of Florida in Microbiology and Immunology, he began to explore medical school options and decided a Caribbean medical school would offer the global healthcare experience he was seeking. After speaking to several physicians at the surrounding hospitals he volunteered at, many of them spoke highly of Ross University School of Medicine. Dr. Day applied and was promptly accepted to RUSM and started in May 2008.
Dr. Day describes his experience at RUSM as excellent – the fusion of local Dominican culture with his medical studies, provided an incredible diverse global learning environment. He was actively involved in several university activities including American College of Surgeons, as an Anatomy Lab Teaching Assistant, and Peer Tutor. He quickly developed bonds with his fellow classmates that has continued to serve them through their personal lives and careers.
Upon graduation, Dr. Day matched in General Surgery at the prestigious Mayo Clinic Arizona, where he was named Chief Resident 2017 – 2018. Dr. Day describes having the ability to see a problem and addressing it with immediate intervention as the driving factor that pushed him to initially pursue general surgery. Additionally, the vital relationship between surgeon and patient is fundamentally different than any other patient and physician relationship; it requires a heightened level of trust and belief. For all these reasons, Dr. Day has continued to advance as a Surgical Oncology Fellow at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
After completing his Fellowship in Surgical Oncology, Dr. Day plans on focusing on Hepatobiliary surgery as both a clinical and research specialty and to continue on his missionary medical trips to underserved countries.
