Board-certified physician Dr. Yasmin Carina Ryan is pleased to announce that she was the 2011 recipient of the Secretary of Veteran Affairs Hands and Heart Award. The Hands and Heart Award goes to a health care provider in the VA system who exhibits exemplary dedication to serving the needs of veterans, indicated by a deep commitment to and extensive demonstration of direct patient care.

“I was extremely honored to receive the Hands and Heart Award,” said Dr. Yasmin Carina Ryan, who is an internal medicine specialist at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center in West Virginia. “Patient care is such an important issue, and it’s one that isn’t talked about nearly as much as it should be. Obviously my dedication to patient care doesn’t stem from a desire for recognition, but it’s incredibly validating, and it’s so heartening to see that the Secretary of Veteran Affairs office values patient care.”

Dr. Yasmin Carina Ryan has been working with the VA since 2006, when she left the world of the private practice to return to a hospital setting, after finishing her residency in New York and becoming a board-certified internal medicine specialist. In transferring to the VA hospital, Dr. Yasmin Carina Ryan says that she’s been able to focus more on patient care.

“The stakes are generally much higher in a hospital environment than in a private practice, and so providing excellent patient care is even more important,” remarked Dr. Yasmin Carina Ryan. “And I think working with veterans in general provides a particularly unique way to look at patient care.”

For Yasmin Carina Ryan, the Hands and Heart award is an indication that more needs to be done. “This award is a signal to me that I’m succeeding, yes, but it doesn’t mean that now I can rest on my laurels and stop working to constantly improve,” said Dr. Yasmin Carina Ryan. “If anything, receiving this award signified to me how much there is that’s left to be done. Providing exemplary patient care shouldn’t be something out of the ordinary; exemplary patient care should be the standard.”

Dr. Yasmin Carina Ryan looks forward to working with her fellow doctors to continue improving standards of care both within her own hospital, and throughout the medical field in general.