Dr. Ru-Huey Yen is a primary care physician in Oakland, California.
Story Preservation recorded her story in the aftermath of the acute phase of the COVID-19 crisis, in a setting where the impact was immediate, sustained, and deeply felt. What she shares is not simply an account of a public health emergency, but a clear, grounded reflection on what it means to care for others when the usual structures of certainty begin to fall away.
Dr. Yen discusses the demands of leadership, the necessity of adaptation, and the often unrecognized decisions that shape patient care under pressure. With clarity and restraint, Dr. Yen reflects on how her role evolved, and how experiences like these can shift one’s understanding of responsibility, resilience, and the values that guide both medicine and daily life.
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