Dr. Sarah Yuen: Hudson-Penn Award for Excellence in Surgery
Dr. Sarah Yuen knew what her career path would be from a very young age, but a medical outreach trip while in high school helped to sharpen her focus and expand her horizons. Dr. Yuen, who matched at UC Irvine Medical Center, is the 2020 recipient of the Hudson-Penn Award for Excellence in Surgery.
What this award means: “This award is meaningful to me because it represents my family and all the mentors who have supported me. I have already been so blessed to learn from excellent surgeons here at UT Southwestern and to be surrounded by outstanding peers who have pushed me every day. To then receive this award as a female first-generation Asian-American and the first person in my family to pursue a career in medicine, is the highest honor.”
Mentor comment: “Sarah was selected for the Hudson-Penn Award because she possesses the personal attributes and academic qualifications that epitomize excellence in surgery. She is an intelligent, hardworking, goal-oriented, and compassionate individual who will make an outstanding surgeon.” – Dr. Rohit Sharma, Assistant Professor of Surgery
Background and family: “My dad was born in Hong Kong and my mom in Malaysia, and both immigrated to the United States to pursue college educations. I was born in Plano, but spent most of my childhood in Phoenix, Arizona. My sister, who is four years younger than me, is my best friend. My family is extremely close, and we love to travel, play tennis, and eat delicious food together.”
What led to your career path: “I wanted to make a difference in the world and thought that a career as a physician allowed me to fulfill that calling. As a high school student, I was given the life-changing opportunity to travel with a surgical team to the Dominican Republic. After seeing the impact of surgery on the lives of our patients amid poverty and disparity, I knew that this was the specialty that would best equip me to help those less fortunate. In addition, I hope to promote the field of global surgery, increasing access to surgical care for underserved populations around the world.”
College: “I graduated summa cum laude from Baylor University in 2016 with a University Scholars Bachelor of Arts degree as a National Merit Scholar. While at Baylor, I was involved in various extracurriculars, including participating in a medical mission trip to Kumasi, Ghana, serving as the Service Chair for the American Medical Student Association, and being inducted into the Delta Delta Delta sorority and into Phi Beta Kappa as a junior.”
UTSW activities: “I was a volunteer chair and later a co-Director for United to Serve, an initiative creating a free community health fair. I also was a participant in and leader on spring break mission trips to Sarstun, Guatemala, and served as an editor of Home & Abroad, a student-run and -written global health magazine.”
Surprising fact: “Despite growing up in Arizona, I am a die-hard Cowboys fan thanks to my dad, who fell in love with ‘America’s Team’ when he lived in Dallas during the glory years.”
Future plans: “I plan to pursue a career in academic surgery and to do research aimed at reducing health disparities and assessing health outcomes to further the field of global surgery.”
About the award: The award, established in 1979, is named for Dr. Lee Hudson, Chief of surgery at Parkland Memorial Hospital when UT Southwestern was founded, and for Robert Penn, Dr. Hudson’s brother-in-law.