Director, Schiffert Health Center, Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Blacksburg, Virginia
“I was in private practice at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center when I was
asked to fill an opening at the University Health Center, ‘on loan.’ ... I grew to
love it. I took a 45 percent pay cut, but I’ve never regretted it. In private practice
I worked all hours. My kids were young, and being able to spend time with them was
worth a lot to me. I wanted to be certain they didn’t get shortchanged in the process
of my medical career. ... I’ve been at Virginia Tech since 2004. There are about 30,000
students here; in 2017-18, we had over 22,000 unique visits. I’m responsible for daily
operations, policies, strategic planning, and managing staff, and I’m the public health
official for the university. I love my job—and life is too short to stay in it if
I didn’t love it. ... It’s taken me a while to get to this point, where I know myself
very well, and I know what I will and won’t put up with. My style of leadership has
significance; I own my own voice. I am proud to be a woman in the medical profession. ...
Nowhere in your job description is it required that you must like all your colleagues,
but you must work well together and be professional. Whatever issues you have, leave
them at the door. I expect staff—women and men—to meet me at that bar. I don’t lower
it. ... I’m basically a happy person. I don’t think anybody else has responsibility
for my happiness; that’s up to me. When you are younger, you want to please people.
I was born in Thailand, where you don’t speak out and you don’t contradict your elders.
When I came to the States at age 10, my parents tried to maintain their culture. I
was the only Asian in my Catholic school. In high school, my parents didn’t let me
go to parties, and if you keep saying no to invitations, people stop asking you. I
was not comfortable in my own skin. At Pitt, I was still trying to fit in. ... When
I went away to medical school at PCOM, I could say yes to things. The coursework was
harder, but you still had some time to enjoy a social life. PCOM was a fabulous experience
for me, collaborative and supportive. My class was large—about 200 students—and very
diverse. I relished the diversity. ... This is what I tell my kids and what I’d say
to anyone who’s going through medical school: Your dream job may not have been created
yet. Start somewhere, and then carve it out. You may be told, ‘We don’t do it this
way.’ Ask, ‘Well, why don’t you?’”
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