Kristin Ryan, M.D. ’00 Surgical Oncologist OhioHealth, Grant Medical Center

Childhood experience as a patient inspired this Falcon to become a physician, and now Dr. Kristin Ryan ’00 is a surgical oncologist who empowers cancer patients through her compassion and honesty at OhioHealth’s Grant Medical Center in central Ohio.

Her relationships with patients begin with a difficult conversation.

“I tell my residents: ‘Never assume that a patient knows why they are in your office,” she said. “Sometimes they say, ‘My doctor just sent me here. They said you are a specialist.’ ”

She is often the first to confirm a cancer diagnosis, but doesn’t let her patients make treatment decisions without a frank discussion of the challenges and likelihood of recovery.  I heard in a lecture several years ago, “Never leave a patient alone in their fear.  It can kill them.”  I never want a patient to be afraid of the unknown, so I try to address their fears, right from the very beginning.

“Some patients are 75 years old, and say, ‘Yes, I want to do everything. I don’t care if I have feeding tubes.’ But some patients may make a very different decision based on that information alone,” Dr. Ryan said. “Probably what they appreciate the most is the honesty.”

The dream of becoming a physician took root early. Since age 8, she’s visited doctors frequently as an insulin-dependent diabetic. That experience as a patient influenced her approach as a doctor, whether she’s treating a terminal condition or performing routine surgery.

The Bellevue, Ohio native first attended BGSU Firelands. Biology lecturer Todd Marshall ’85 influenced her there, because his anatomy and physiology course was “so much fun, and he really cared about all the people in the class,” Dr. Ryan recalled. He was very enthusiastic about educating us; we could tell that he loved what he did.  Mr. Marshall was very supportive of my application to medical school, and I still have a copy of the letter that he wrote on my behalf.  His pride shined in his smile when I told him that I had gotten accepted.  He died unexpectedly in 2010.

After transferring to the Bowling Green campus, she connected with Dr. Tom Kinstle ’58, emeritus professor of chemistry, and Dr. Lee Meserve, distinguished teaching professor of biological sciences. Dr. Kinstle “was so good at teaching organic chemistry that he made me like it, when I thought that I hated it,” she said, and Dr. Meserve took special care in mentoring her as she prepared medical school applications.

In the future, Dr. Ryan hopes to expand her leadership role in educating the next generation of doctors and to help design “a more system-based cancer care” strategy, she said. Her focus never waivers: most important is the experience of her patients.

“I’m very proud of the relationships I have,” Dr. Ryan said. “Not a day goes by that I don’t have a patient walk out and give me a hug.”  

I forgot to mention that I received the OhioHealth Physician Service Excellence Champion Award in 2012—an award given to a nominee for outstanding compassion, integrity, and dedication to providing the best patient and family experience with every interaction. I was also nominated for the 2013 Physician Compassion and Caring Award.  You don’t have to include that if you don’t feel it’s helpful.

Also, Dr. Christine Genovese….  She was my biology professor at Firelands.  I took her bio course and tutored her biology students.  She whole-heartedly supported my pursuit of medicine.  And, Mr. Marshall nominated me for the BGSU Accomplished Graduate Award that I won in 2008.