C. Ronald MacKenzie, MD

Dr. C. Ronald MacKenzie is an attending physician at Hospital for Special Surgery and Professor of Clinical Medicine and Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College.  Named The C. Ronald MacKenzie Chair in Ethics and Medicine at Hospital for Special Surgery, he has practiced rheumatology, general internal medicine and has provided perioperative care at this institution and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for the last 40 years.

Originally from Canada, he received his Bachelor of Science at the University of Western Ontario and his medical degree from the University of Calgary. He was trained in Winnipeg and New York at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell) and Hospital for Special Surgery. He subsequently joined the medical staff of these institutions later adding an appointment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where he is a consulting physician (Rheumatology). With his selection as faculty scholar in the Ethics Division at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (02-04), he began his formal training in medical ethics, an interest culminating in the above mentioned Chair as well as his appointment to the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Committee of the American College of Rheumatology, his primary professional association, chairing the committee from 2010-2013. He is currently Co-Chair of the HSS Ethics Committee, and he also chairs the Institutional Review Board, a committee the responsibility of which is to ensure the safety of patients participating in clinical research at HSS. Further he is an active member of the Weill Cornell Medicine Division of Medical Ethics participating in their Ethics Committee and its teaching activity.

Dr. MacKenzie’s interest in the intersection between medicine and the humanities is demonstrated through a number of activities. He is a member of the American Osler Society, an organization devoted to the history of medicine with particular reference to life and enduring contributions of William Osler as well as the Charaka Club, an organization founded in 1898 by physicians with a shared interest in the historical and literary aspects of medicine. In addition he is serves on the Editorial Board of The Pharos, the journal of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, an organization whose focus is the promotion of humanism through gifted teaching, leadership development and service to others. In 2020, he was honored to present the Life in Medicine Lecture of the David Rogers Health Policy Colloquium at Weill Cornell Medicine.

In addition to these professional responsibilities, Dr. MacKenzie has served on the Board of the Health Care Chaplaincy of New York, an organization devoted to the spiritual support of people coping with the distress and suffering of severe illness. He was honored to receive their Wholeness of Life award in 1993. He is a long-standing member of the Board of Trustees of The Osborn, a senior living facility in Rye, NY where he lives with his wife with whom he has raised four children. In 2014 he joined the Board of the Newport Festival Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to the promotion of America’s music and the famed Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals. He was also appointed to the medical staff of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. In his spare time Dr. MacKenzie is a musician (clarinetist) with the Westchester Symphonic Winds. In his 29-year association with this organization he has performed at Avery Fisher Hall and the Caramoor Music Festival. He holds dual citizenship in the United States and Canada.

Dr. MacKenzie regularly lectures on matters pertaining to the rheumatic diseases, medical ethics and medicine in general. He has published numerous peer reviewed articles, abstracts, and book chapters. The second edition of his book, entitled The Perioperative Care of the Orthopedic Patient, was published in 2020.

Departments

Specialized Centers

Special Expertise

Rheumatology
General internal medicine
Perioperative medicine
Medical ethics