Ryan and Ali: a love story
04 Feb 2018Special Q and A feature honors Valentine’s Day
By: Shannon Priem, Salem Health Marketing & Communications
If he really had to, Ryan Rose could fix a splint with gum, duct tape and a safety pin, MacGyver style. But the skill he finds even more inspiring is the compassion Ali McCray shows with trauma patients.
Lucky for them, they fell in love, got married and moved to Salem. Lucky for us, they both work nights (mostly) in the busiest ED from Washington to California -- Salem Hospital.
They arrived in 2016 as a packaged deal, Ryan said, only half-joking. He’s an emergency physician; she’s a nurse practitioner. Both love rescuing (and fixing) patients inside our walls, and exploring the world’s wilderness playgrounds when they can escape.
Every so often, Common Ground offers a glimpse into the personal lives of providers and staff in a “Q and A” feature. This time – and because it’s near Valentine’s Day -- we’re especially honored to turn this feature into a love story.
So, meet Ryan and Ali, in their own words. Although they answered each question individually, we think you’ll enjoy how their answers intersect.
HOW DID YOU MEET?
How Ali remembers it
We met through a friend in my NP class at Emory. I had graduated and just moved to Massachusetts for my first job. Ryan was teaching a wilderness medicine course at Emory that my friend had attended. She mentioned my name to Ryan and said something like “I’ve got a friend who likes all this wilderness medicine stuff. You two should get together and go hiking.”
We first met to go rock climbing in Worcester, Mass. I feel like I was blushing and clumsy the whole time. Definitely had a huge crush on him since we first met. He was so sweet and smart, and so easy to talk to from minute one. We have fun doing even really mundane things together. I can go camping and hiking with him, or dig in our garden and feel comfortable covered in dirt and dust and not have to make sure I keep my hair in the right place (it’s always a mess).
Ryan’s take
It’s been the most fantastic time of my life. I can’t imagine anyone else better to spend my time with and to be able to call my wife. I was (and still am) in a little disbelief that she liked me and that she wanted to keep hanging out. She’s pretty much the perfect person in my eyes, I strive to be more like her every day.
HOW DO YOU COORDINATE SCHEDULES?
Ali enjoys their “unique shifts”
We didn’t coordinate at first because we didn’t know how the new ED schedule would go. Even when we are not able to coordinate, we enjoy having the same group of colleagues at the hospital that know us both.
Ryan’s the night owl
I’m more of a night owl and try to work evenings. Ali has most of her shifts in the evening, so it seems to work out for us. There are weeks where we’re on opposite schedules because of overnight shifts, and it feels like our colleagues see us more than we see each other. But then we have the opportunity to arrange our schedules to take a week off for trips, working around the house or to just relax.
WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST REWARDING AT WORK?
Ali, empowering patients
My favorite part of the job is education. However simple it may be, empowering our patients and their families so they can take better care of themselves and navigate a complicated healthcare system is extremely gratifying. Seeing “the light go on” is always rewarding, even in a busy ED. It’s fun working with Ryan, especially since we started our careers at the same time. Working in the ER can be very challenging emotionally, and it’s wonderful to have a partner that understands exactly what a “rough day at the office” means.
Ryan (did he copy her?)
I enjoy teaching, whether to students, to nurses or to patients. I really like talking to someone about what’s going on and to see the light bulb of understanding click on and wash over their face. I like that we have the ability to make a difference in so many lives. Even if it is a small part, it might be what that person needs to have a better understanding, or to cope better. Working with a spouse is great because you can support each other when needed. It’s also rewarding to watch her do what she’s been trained to do.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE?
Ali, finding the romance
We are fortunate to be able to plan time together when couples working normal hours might not be able to see each other. We love to take Penny, our pup, to the dog park to hunt mice in the prairie grass -- we can do that during a normal work day! Our grocery shopping might take place at an 11 p.m. on a week night if we are off together, or dinner might be at 1 a.m. in the hospital cafeteria. It might sound a little bit strange, but it feels special and works for us.
Ryan, more romantic
Our specialty lends itself to this. We can take off days during the week so we can beat the crowds. We can take a small road trip to camp or hike. We can see concerts during the week and not have to worry about getting up early the next day. Last summer we drove to California and ran a half marathon in the Redwood National Park and camped up the coast on the way back. It’s also nice to be able to relate to each other when there has been a bad case, when there have been a lot of sick patients that are stressful and emotionally draining. We understand that and can support each other better when necessary, I think.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT WORKING WITH EACH OTHER?
Ali confesses
A big hazard of having a partner working in the same specialty and same department is we probably spend a lot of time talking about medicine. I am definitely guilty of this more than Ryan. We’ve had people ask us how we could work with our spouse and still get along, but that’s definitely not been an issue for us.
Ryan with the same confession
The biggest thing is trying to keep work at work, and trying to keep the medicine at work and not at home. We always end up talking about cases, how to handle certain things, new studies that one of us has discovered and new information. We both enjoy learning, so it’s not that bad, but sometimes it’s tough to turn the medicine off and just be a regular person. That’s what going outside and hiking, running, mountain biking and climbing are for though.
WHY WERE YOU ATTRACTED TO SALEM HEALTH?
Ali and Ryan
We were looking for a work home, somewhere we can grow as part of a team and see ourselves staying for a long time. We both wanted to move to the Pacific Northwest even before meeting each other, and had been looking at hospitals in the Northwest for a while. When we interviewed here in the ED, we fell head over heels. Our colleagues in the ED and in the rest of the hospital are outstanding, and we couldn’t see ourselves practicing anywhere else, then and now. The hard work, professionalism, collaborative attitude, and kindness demonstrated by the whole team every day is humbling, and continually makes us strive to be better providers.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR SPECIALTY?
It’s in Ali’s blood
My whole family is in medicine. Dad is a geriatrician, grandfather was a vascular surgeon, mom was a nurse. Dad took us on home visits and hospital rounds when we were children (we didn’t have a babysitter regularly), and he and mom were always teaching us about interesting medical conditions. We definitely had less than proper dinner table conversations! I had a diary as a kid, and my mom reminded me while I was in nursing school of an entry I made when I was seven: “I want to be a nurse just like my mom.” It was never forced, but feels like it’s in our blood. My younger siblings and siblings in law are mostly in healthcare as well.
Ryan to the rescue
I have a background in engineering and began ski patrolling while in college in Tennessee. (Yes, we actually get snow, and yes we actually have mountains.) That got me interested in low resource and backcountry medicine. Being able to handle most/all situations that come to you was a big part of why I chose this field. Learning how to work with limited information and trust your own judgment … I can’t tell you how rewarding that is. We see such a broad swathe of culture in our ED; each day is different. You never know who’s in next patient room – but you know you can help them.
WHAT ARE YOUR OUTSIDE INTERESTS?
Ali, the adventurer
Besides what we’ve already listed, I love to snowboard. I grew up camping. I got very lucky to find an adventure partner with many similar interests. We’ve been able to attend wilderness medicine courses both in the US and abroad. Our adventures include backpacking around Costa Rica, to our honeymoon in Tanzania climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and going on safari. Ryan even helped me train for my first marathon, and we have run two marathons together.
Ryan, and don’t forget the dogs and house
Outdoor sports and our dogs take up most of our time after work. We are also home owners for the first time and have been working on our house. Being outside in nature is kind of like a religious experience for me, it helps me relax and to order my thoughts.
WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE VERY SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?
Ali (blushing)
I was a break dancer before I went to nursing school. I did it enough where I danced with a troupe in Chicago and was an instructor as well.
Ryan the car guy
I was an engineering student before medicine and had a six-month internship with BMW while in school. I played the trumpet in the marching band in high school. I really like to design and build things which has become helpful around the house.
Alison McCray
Medical Specialty: Emergency Nurse Practitioner
Education, graduation years: MSN/MPH, Emory School of Nursing and Public Health, Class of 2011;
BSN, Loyola School of Nursing, Class of 2008.
Ryan Rose
Medical Specialty: Emergency Medicine Physician
Education, graduation years: Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM) 2012; Tennessee Tech University - Mechanical Engineering 2006.
Residency: Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, 2015.