The former Montana Grizzly strong safety is in his fourth year of medical school at the University of Washington. Hunstberger, who earned a degree in cellular molecular biology from Montana, is working toward a career as an emergency room doctor.
The Libby native said he got interested in working in the emergency room rather than being a surgeon or a general practitioner because of the diversity of the cases and always-moving pace.
Huntsberger attributed an interest in science and medicine to former Griz standout Blaine McElmurry, who was also accepted into Washington’s School of Medicine, but went on to a pro football career.
“He’s from Troy, which is near Libby, and our parents are friends,” said Huntsberger, who played briefly for the Billings Outlaws, an indoor football team.
Huntsberger embarked on his medical career after coaching outside linebackers while he pursued a master’s degree at tiny Division II Central Missouri State.
As part of the WAMI (Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) program, which provides access to medical school to state residents of states without medical schools, Huntsberger actually spent his first year of med school at Montana State. He said he heard a few harmless jokes, but never felt uncomfortable in Bozeman.
“I enjoyed it,” he said. “I didn’t get too wrapped up in it.”
Huntsberger, 28, said his schedule changes every three to four weeks. His workload and training has ranged from working with psychiatry patients in Alaska to 35-hour shifts (yes, you read that right) every three or four days in the trauma center of Harbour View Hospital in Seattle.
“You see a lot of crazy things,” he said. “There’s not a lot of staff. After you get done with a shift you just want to rest and then you start thinking about your day and you wonder how you made it through.”
Huntsberger, who will graduate in June, is currently applying for residency at around 40 hospitals across the country. A residency lasts three years. Huntsberger said he’ll be excited with whichever hospital accepts his application, but is hoping for in the western part of the U.S., in a place such as Salt Lake City, Albuquerque or Sacramento.
He’ll find out his destination in March, but Huntsberger said only a select number of hospitals offer residency programs in emergency medicine, which leaves Seattle and Missoula out of the picture. Huntsberger did get a chance to work some shifts in St. Patrick’s internal medicine department last year, which coincided with the Grizzlies’ playoff run.
“That worked out really well,” he said.
Huntsberger, the 2001 Big Sky Conference Defensive MVP and runner-up for the Buck Buchanan Award (best defensive player in I-AA), said the Grizzlies won the national championship in 2001 because the senior-laden squad bought into Coach Joe Glenn’s team concept.
“We had really good chemistry,” said Huntsberger, who watched this year’s Brawl of the Wild Cat-Griz matchup at the Seattle sports bar Sluggers, which was packed with a couple hundred fans of the two schools. “I can’t think of a better way to end your career. Fifteen-and-1. We lost to Hawaii in Week 2 and then won the rest. We should’ve held (Furman) to a shutout though. Oh, well.”
Scott Johnson is a freelance writer in Missoula. If you have an idea for a player to be profiled as the subject of a Where are they now?, please contact him at sjohnson2930@msn.com.
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