Speaker: Ryan Williams, Physician Executive
What is your why?
Ryan Williams: Hi, this is Dr Ryan Williams. I'm doing this right. Thank you Jennie for volunteering me to help out with this. Jennie asked for a couple of us to share some information about ourselves, our history basically. What's our, why? It's something that the board does typically and people have kind of gone through and shared their whys- why they go to the work? Why do they, What fills their bucket? What is something, either a story or a connection or anything like that that's been meaningful to kind of keep them sustaining what's pretty difficult work to do actually. So again, I'll start with my myself. So I've been with PrairieCare since 2009 right out of my residency at the University of Minnesota, but it goes back way further than that. Actually my- I've always been interested in mental health and been around mental health. My dad is a psychologist at the developmental center in South Dakota. My mom was a special ed director for years and years. So I got to grow up with them and be at their work sites and especially with the special ed stuff, helping mom in the school and being able to mentor and talking kids and just always been, interested in its fascinating but also just loving it and loving the kids and the families and everybody that we can work with. And so actually going into medical school. I kind of knew I was gonna be a psychiatrist. It was just-it was in the cards. I was gonna be a psychologist or psychiatrist. I did ok on the MCAT, so I went to medical school and became a psychiatrist. So it's kind of just has naturally, always has flown this way for me and, and, but what's been interesting because that's, that's the beginnings but sustainability, because I've done a lot of different things with PrairieCare over the years and from the Edina to Chaska to the initial hospital, to the hospital here, the CMO role, the CEO roll, the Managing Physician, the Chief of the Medical, just worn a lot of different hats and part of that, it's really interesting to me to do multiple different things, but part of it is also just the connections, the connections with all the different people and getting to know everybody and getting to know, I don't know if anybody, if you know me, you know, I'm kind of a people person and, it's, and it's not, it's the staff, it's the teams, it's, it's seen with the vibe or the field of pulses at the different sites and and being able to kind of work within that and then also development and helping people develop into the best versions of themselves in this world of mental health as they as they can be. And so I've been lucky to be able to have so many connections and so many contact with so many different people and so many different levels from my treatment team right now to the, you know, the front floor staff to pretty much everyone. So, so that's what keeps it going for me and it's, it's, you know, you have your good days and bad days with difficult cases and situations or struggling teammates or whatever, but you know, it's also this band of brothers thing that's been really, really nice to. Um, it does, it gets me up in the morning. There's, I mean yeah you lose sleep every once and over some things, but it's all been super manageable and you can do it with your arms locked with your, with your colleagues. So that's my, why, that's why I keep doing it and sometimes it feels like banging your head against the wall and other times it feels like this is the coolest job on the face of the earth. So, I'm very fortunate to be surrounded by all of you and wonderful leadership and management and, and like, like I said, the patients and the families, oh my gosh, Some of the families that just like crying, and overwhelmed thinking for all the work that we've done and saving lives. So I mean, how does that not fill your bucket? That's pretty cool. So, I'm hopefully this is kind of what you're hoping for for Jennie. I think this is a really good idea as far as being able to pass on on stories and different stories, not only the wise, but like, you know, these wins that we have, you know, I think that will be really interesting to share. And again, it goes back to that connectedness with people. This is another way of doing that and seeing that reminding ourselves that not every day is rough, some days are rough and you get a win. And so I think that's really important from a managerial standpoint to kinda help burn out and help people feel like, okay, this is really meaningful work and we're all fortunate to be able to do it. Not everyone can do it, but we're fortunate to so on that I'll stop rambling. Hopefully everyone's having a great day and we'll talk to you later. Thank you.
