Jing Win Liu, M.D., recalls the pressure to absorb vast amounts of information during medical training and the immense responsibility of applying the knowledge to real patients. With decades of experience as a pulmonologist and critical care specialist, Liu deeply values the opportunity she has had to train physicians at Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center: “I love all of my residents – as long as they’re kind and want to learn.”

Now, Liu is recognizing trainees’ efforts by endowing the Jing Win Liu, M.D., Excellence in VA Internal Medicine Award. The award grants at least $1,000 each to two residents in internal medicine or internal medicine/pediatrics and to one third- or fourth-year medical student, with an optional additional award of at least $500 to the resident with the best research poster or oral presentation in pulmonary/critical care or sleep medicine. 

This is the first year for the awards – neither Liu nor winners knew who would be selected until the internal medicine residency graduation ceremony in mid-June. First-year resident Husam Shakour, M.D., and second-year resident, Meagan Phox, D.O., received the awards, both advancing to the next residency levels with the incoming class. The medical student award will be announced later.

The awards recognize recipients’ commitment to advocating for veteran care, academic performance, overall work ethic, and clinical excellence including peer and student teaching.

“The winners were selected by the VA faculty. I’m sure it was a difficult decision as we have outstanding residents across the program,” says Jennifer Jackson, M.D., residency program director and associate professor at KU School of Medicine-Wichita. Jackson noted Phox will become a chief resident and described Shakour as “a standout of the first-year class.”

‘Time to show my appreciation’

Jackson describes Liu as “a valued member of the teaching faculty for many years.”

Garold Minns, M.D., KUSM-Wichita dean emeritus and an internist who has served in VA clinics for decades, says Liu is “one of the pillars of our program and has been highly respected for years,” particularly for her pulmonary expertise and her teaching in the VA’s intensive care unit. To colleagues, residents and students, “she is very easy to talk with, someone you can have a conversation with. She’s very open to questions and doesn’t judge you. They enjoy her personality.”

Liu sees herself as a “workhorse, not a show horse,” a physician in the “sunset of her career” who initially didn’t imagine she could establish an endowed fund. But recognizing residents’ and students’ efforts and choosing modest personal expenses, she was gratified to learn that she did have the resources and giving back was possible.

“I think it’s time to show my appreciation for the medical education I received,” Liu says. “These residents deserve recognition; I never take them for granted. I want to help the medical students and residents reach their future career goals.”

Liu also recalls the financial challenges of medical school and residency. Growing up in Baltimore, she supported herself through college and the University of Maryland School of Medicine with scholarships and loans: “I didn’t have a lot of things. I didn’t even have a car.”

Born in Taiwan, Liu, her mother and sisters had joined their father in the U.S. when she was 9 years old.  Her father, a foreign medical school graduate, found the American medical system challenging to navigate. However, his experience didn’t deter Liu and her five sisters, four of whom became physicians. The tradition continues with Liu’s son, Jonathan, a KUSM-Wichita graduate who is entering his first year of internal medicine residency in Wichita in July.

After medical school and residency in Baltimore, Liu did her pulmonology fellowship in St. Louis. She worked within the VA system, including at Salem VA in Virginia. Initially she wanted to return to Baltimore but did not find the right opportunity. In 2005, she arrived in Wichita, found a welcoming home, discovered a “stimulating teaching hub” and now reflects positively on her journey.

“Education has helped me so much,” she says. “I came to the United States; I didn’t know any English. My only goal in life, actually, at that time was that people wouldn’t make fun of the way I talked.”

A distinct kind of training

The VA medical center in Wichita has long played a crucial role in training residents and medical students, even predating the establishment of KUSM-Wichita in the early 1970s.

Minns explains that the VA hospital provides exposure to a unique health care delivery model, serving a specific patient population in a government-run setting. “They learn not only how to care for people but also the price and consequences of our conflicts,” Minns remarks, noting a plaque at the center states, “The price of freedom is seen here.”

At the VA, Liu says, she has applied her pulmonary training, developed critical care expertise and worked in sleep medicine.  She found a particular affinity with one group of patients. “I'm not a jibber-jabberer or a very social or outgoing person,” Liu says, but “I find the smokers quite sociable and easy to talk with. They’re down to earth. I love them and I want to help them.”

Her approach with residents and students emphasizes teamwork, valuing contribution from everyone regardless of their level of training. “Our goal is to make sure each patient gets the best care and treatment. I don’t care who thinks of it or offers it.”

Above, left: Jing Win Liu, M.D., right, stands with first-year resident Husam Shakour, M.D., one of the recipients of the Jing Win Liu, M.D., Excellence in VA Internal Medicine Award.

Celebrating good work

Funds can be endowed to support awards recognizing medical students or residents in any department or residency program at KU School of Medicine-Wichita. If you’re interested in creating a fund, contact Brad Rukes, KU Endowment senior development director-Wichita, at 316-293-2641 or BRukes@kuendowment.org.