Since 1987, three generations of the McBee family have carried a tradition of care at OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine.

It began with Dr. Martin McBee, who decided to pursue a career in medicine after staying the night with a friend in fourth grade. What started out as a joke about how he could be “McBee, MD” turned serious as he grew up and realized he actually wanted to be a doctor—even though he ended up becoming a DO instead of an MD.

Martin is an emergency medicine physician at INTEGRIS Health in Oklahoma City, where he has been practicing for approximately 30 years. He chose a career in emergency medicine because he sees firsthand the impact on his patients.

“In a lot of specialties, you don’t get feedback right away. In emergency medicine, you are on the front line. You’re taking care of people in their worst time, so you get to make a difference,” he said.

Martin’s career inspired his sons, Dr. Tristan McBee and Grayson McBee, to follow in his footsteps.

Tristan, a fourth-year emergency medicine resident at INTEGRIS Health Southwest Medical Center in Oklahoma City, said his father’s passion inspired him to pursue a career in medicine.

“There’s no other job in my mind that would provide the same fulfillment as medicine. That was imprinted on Grayson and me at a young age. Our dad was intentional about not talking negatively about his experiences, and that perspective has been passed on,” he said.

For Grayson, a second-year medical student at OSU-COM, the path to medicine always felt like it was the natural choice. He decided to attend the same medical school as his father and brother after seeing Tristan perform osteopathic manipulative treatment on Martin.

“I wanted to go into osteopathic medicine because I saw how it helped my dad and for the legacy. It’s cool that we’ve walked the same halls, and my brother and I may have had some of the same professors. It’s a fraternal type of thing as well,” said Grayson.

The McBee family legacy extends beyond OSU-COM and into the ER, where Martin and Tristan work together at INTEGRIS. Tristan’s experience in emergency medicine began as a child, when he would shadow his dad in the ER—something Grayson did, as well. It showed the brothers a side of their father they hadn’t seen before —how he met his patients’ needs.

Witnessing the wide range of medical cases in the ER revealed to Tristan the importance of emergency medicine.

“Shadowing my dad in the ER gave me a very grateful perspective on life. There’s always something that can go wrong or something you can complain about, but then you see the worst-case scenario, and it doesn’t even compare,” said Tristan.

Martin and Tristan said there have been challenges they’ve had to overcome working together in the ER.

“It’s hard because he’s been listening to me for 30 years, and he’s tired of it. It’s good in one way and challenging in another, because he wants to do his own thing and I do too,” said Martin.

Although he said it’s funny to look back on now, Tristan felt like there was extra pressure on him when he began working with his dad.

“Everything I tried to say came out wrong, and he tried to teach me like he would a normal resident, but I didn’t receive it because it was coming from my dad. It was a mess,” said Tristan.

Once they got past the initial hurdles, the father and son duo found their momentum and said working together has been amazing and a lot of fun.

Grayson, who ultimately hopes to end up in aerospace medicine, is considering an emergency medicine residency following graduation to join his father and brother in the ER.

Watching his father and Tristan succeed in their careers inspires him, Grayson said.

“My dad shaped my life and set a good example for me, but I’ve also seen my brother go through medical school and now residency, while still making time for family. Being able to have a modern example of how to live a fulfilling life with medicine is really cool,” he said.

Martin is proud of his sons for following him into what he refers to as a noble profession.

“I love the fact that they want to take care of people and give their lives to medicine the same way I did. It’s outstanding,” said Martin.