Yuna Lee is an assistant professor of health policy and management at Columbia University where she studies and teaches how health care organizations can learn, innovate and improve by fostering creativity from clinicians, staff, administrators and patients. Lee says she finds her work as urgent and as energizing as she did when she started 16 years ago.
“We live in a time of such health system transformation, I chose this path because I saw how health care organizations could promote healing and ultimately save lives by building better management capabilities.”
Lee credits YSPH with being a great community of scholars, colleagues, friends and faculty mentors and exemplifying the most aspirational of scholars and role models while preparing her for the joys and challenges of a life in public health. She continues to collaborate with MPH and PhD classmates.
“Public health and health care have philosophical origins as healing professions, and many in this industry view their work as a calling. As we continue to debate how to trade off efficiency and quality, commerce is often prioritized above social and emotional concerns. We should not lose sight of our values to alleviate suffering, be compassionate, and protect vulnerable populations.”