The ‘Aloha’ Spirit

Former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) spoke about leaving your mark on the world. He wrote, “The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.”

To Robyn Yim Pang, MD ’89, the themes of legacy and family resonate through three generations of her family. When describing her father, Henry Yim, MD ’56, she puts it simply: “Dad treasures two things: family and Jefferson!”

The distance between Hawaii and Philadelphia is approximately 4,855 miles. Flying could take more than 12 hours, including more than one stop. Yet despite these daunting statistics, according Henry, when he was in medical school, Jefferson Medical College was well known in his home state of Hawaii, and many Jefferson graduates hailed from home.

“Back in the 1950s, there was a large contingency of Hawaiian people attending Jefferson Medical College. They were there in the past, and they were there during the time I was there. We did not have a medical school in Hawaii, and Jefferson was the one choice for all of us,” Henry shares.

“When I was applying for medical school to Jefferson, there was a doctor, Min Hin Li. He was the father of Jefferson Medical College in Hawaii and the one that promoted Jefferson the most. Way back when, he got all of us together on a yearly basis so that we would remember the school. Dr. Min Hin Li was our mentor.”

Henry describes a close-knit alumni group. “We used to have a group that met all the time as Jefferson alumni, but it has since disbanded. Dr. Robert Wong, who was our leader at that time, kept the Jefferson alumni group going. I took over for quite a few years and got to see a lot of Hawaii people get admitted to Jefferson.”

Henry’s experience at Jefferson was truly positive, launching lifelong friendships that have stood the test of time. “Oh, I had a wonderful time at Jefferson,” he reflects. “I enjoyed the environment. I lived on 9th Street next to the school close by, and I enjoyed every moment there.”

“I had some dear friends I visited throughout the years,” Henry reports. “I was in the wedding party for one of my classmates, Owen Chang. I’m the godfather of his first son. Another [was] my roommate, Dr. Tony Ramos-Barroso. He’s from Puerto Rico, and he came to visit me in Hawaii about 10 years ago.”

Following medical school, Henry specialized in pediatrics, returning to Hawaii, where he underwent his residency at the Kauikeolani Children’s Hospital in Hawaii. While he remained in Hawaii as a pediatrician, his Jefferson legacy continued to bloom. Following his two nephews, Dr. Donald Yim and Dr. Ernie Yim, who were members of the classes of 1966 and 1974, Henry’s son, daughter, and grandson have followed his path across the country.

“Legacy and family, I think, are very powerful,” says Henry’s son, Gregory Yim, MD ’88. “But really, to me, Jefferson represented good clinical medicine. I’ve really enjoyed following in my dad’s footsteps being a pediatrician. I did my residency back home at Kapiolani and then a fellowship in neurology at Columbia, the Neurological Institute in New York. I have been home (in Hawaii) since 1994, golfing with Dad twice a week, and really have enjoyed a wonderful ride down the road of general pediatrics and family life.”

“One of my dearest memories at Jefferson was my dear friend Don Liu. We were both class of 1988. We were the dearest friends, and after every exam, we’d go to Chinatown, to Ho Sai Gai, eat dinner, and then go to a movie. Unfortunately, my good buddy died while trying to save some children that were drowning, and he drowned himself. If there’s a way, I’d like to dedicate this to Don Liu and his family.”

He notes that one of his best experiences was living with his sister, who followed and attended Jefferson as well. “Growing up with Jefferson license plates around, and jackets, and cups, and feeling the pride that my dad has for the school just made me want to follow along,” shares Gregory’s sister, Robyn Yim Pang, MD ’89. “We’d been there before, and we visited the school, and it was always very high on my list. A really big factor was Greg was already there, and I was just hoping to get in and very happy to do so.”

After joining her brother Greg at Jefferson, Robyn also returned to Hawaii for her residency at the University of Hawaii. A pathologist specializing in transfusion medicine, Robyn also has warm memories of her time in the City of Brotherly Love.

“I had many special memories,” she continues. “I think one of the most fun was going to King of Prussia Mall with Greg and my sister-in-law Shirley on the weekends. We’ve never seen a mall so big. We were able to go to a Barry Manilow concert in Valley Forge, and now to hear Zach going and running around Valley Forge with his friends just makes all the memories even more special. We saw a couple of Eagles games and got to do things on the weekends. We had a lot of fun in Philadelphia.”

When asked what it is about Jefferson that inspires both loyalty and legacy, Robyn replies, “I think it’s pride. It’s been like a dream to go there, and we aspired to go there watching Dad. I know my dad’s such a proud alumnus, and … he’s coached so many kids from Hawaii. We saw that growing up and then with ourselves, and then hopefully, with the next generation, who saw how happy and proud we were to be there.”

The next generation—Robyn’s son, Zachary Pang—is a fourth-year medical student at Jefferson, part of the class of 2023. “We tried not to influence Zach too much,” she says. “But we were so happy when he chose Jefferson.”

Zachary’s entire family was with him at Jefferson’s White Coat Ceremony that kicked off his medical school career. “It was definitely an honor when my grandfather put my white coat on me with my mom and my father there alongside,” he recalls. “In the moment, it was hard to take in, and then when I looked at the pictures after, there’s one picture of all of us, all wearing white coats, and I thought, Oh, look, now I’m becoming them. Growing up, I saw my parents and my grandfather wearing their white coats, going to work, and taking care of patients. And I thought, Now this is what I’ll get to do. And I just thought it was really nice.”

“I think I speak for my dad,” Robyn says. “The smile he had when he put Zach’s white coat on during his White Coat Ceremony was a mile wide, right, Dad?”

When asked about his inspiration to continue his family’s Jefferson journey, Zachary explains, “It was a lot of different things. I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. I went to undergrad in Chicago, and I loved it there. I wanted to see what else the world was like, and I wanted to go to medical school. There are medical schools all over the country, including Hawaii. When I heard what people told me about Jefferson, and their experiences, it sounded like a great place. It had a special connection, too, because my mom and my grandfather went here. Jefferson was a great fit to me.”

“The most special thing about Jefferson that I’ve experienced so far is the people. They are really nice and friendly. My classmates and I are all very collaborative, we all share notes, and we all want to see each other succeed. I really enjoy working in the hospital as well because the attendings and the residents I work under are all really very enthusiastic and teaching focused and foster an excellent learning environment.”

“People can go to medical school anywhere,” he continues. “What stands out to me is that there are people at Jefferson called ‘lifers’—these are people who went to med school at Jefferson, trained at Jefferson, and now practice at Jefferson. It’s a testament to Jefferson because they want to stay here, practice here, and perpetuate that strong clinical learning environment where we’re all helping each other in a collaborative and supportive way.”

Robyn describes laughing when Zachary was first admitted to Jefferson and realizing that the microscope that was one of the first items on her packing list for medical school was not a necessary tool for her son. Yet for all of the differences that Henry and Robyn may have undergone in their training and experiences, to Zachary, one thing has remained constant.

“My family told me that Jefferson is on the forefront of medicine. We are reading all of the new guidelines, articles, and studies. They told me, ‘You’re going to be mentally stimulated, you’re going to see all these new devices and new procedures, and you’re going to constantly be learning the most up-to-date medicine.’ I’ve definitely been seeing that here on my rotations.”

Zachary was inspired to pursue internal medicine and a career in cardiology by an encounter prompted by his grandfather. “I would most definitely love to stay here at Jefferson to do my training,” he says. “When I was a first-year medical student, my grandfather told me to meet Dr. Reginald Ho, a cardiologist who practiced at Jefferson. Dr. Ho grew up in the same small town where my grandfather and mother grew up [Kaneohe, Hawaii], and his father was also a physician in Hawaii and a friend of my grandfather’s.”

“When I met him as a first-year medical student, he invited me to shadow him and to learn about cardiology. I was inspired by his knowledge about cardiac electrophysiology and [his] passion for the field. As Dr. Ho is from Hawaii, he is very friendly and kindhearted. He has what we call the ‘aloha spirit.’ He invited me to scrub in with him, and I was able to help put in a pacemaker. This was a highlight of my career thus far. I hope to be like him and practice medicine with both the aloha spirit and Jefferson spirit.”

Zachary’s career goals are to follow in the footsteps of his beloved grandfather, mother, and uncles. “My end goal is to come here to Jefferson, which is a phenomenal hospital, and go back to Honolulu, Hawaii, to practice,” he shares.