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Sister Rosemary Ryan, M.D. Sister-Doctor Rosemary Ryan is one of 650 Medical Mission Sisters in 19 nations trying to be present to others in the spirit of Jesus the Healer. Growing up in a large Irish Catholic family in Wisconsin and Iowa, Sister Rosemary felt her vocation from the age of 12. "I distinctly recall telling my best friend that I wanted to be a nun and doctor," she says. Books by Doctor Tom Dooley sparked her interest in missionary life. She entered our Community after graduating from high school. Sister Rosemary earned her B.S. in Biology from Chestnut Hill College and M.D. from Hahnemann Medical College. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Faulkner Hospital, in the Boston area. During this time, Sister Rosemary became interested in hospice care. "I began to think that we needed to do more to help people end their lives in comfort and dignity," she explains. Rather than going overseas as a missionary, she discerned that her calling was in the area of hospice work. "As a resident, I worked with multidisciplinary staff to start a Faulkner Hospital-supported hospice program," Sister Rosemary recalls. Upon completion of her residency, she began directing the hospice program and the Faulkner Clinic. Over the next 25 years, she took on increasing responsibilities in the area of hospice care. Most recently, Sister Rosemary has served as Medical Director of both the VNA (Visiting Nurses Association) Care Network, which covers a large part of the state of Massachusetts, and Hospice Care, Inc., based in Stoneham, MA. "Hospice provides a broad range of services that support patients, families, and significant others, and enable them to really live whatever time they have," she says. A member of the American College of Physicians and many other professional organizations, Sister Rosemary was recently elected to a 6-year term as our Coordinator for Sector North America.
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