Matters of the heart

Raymond Yeow, M.D., '16, spends his days taking care of his patients’ hearts, but it’s his own that in 2015 earned him recognition via OUWB’s first Excellence in Public Health award.

The U.S. Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee’s Excellence in Public Health award recognizes medical students who advance public health while exemplifying its mission to protect and promote the nation’s health and safety.

Six OUWB medical students have received the award since 2015.

Yeow, an alumnus of OUWB’s Class of 2016, was the first.

Now in cardiology fellowship at Michigan Medicine, Yeow recently took time to reflect on the award, his time at OUWB, and his career in medicine.

“The award was a very big honor, and I was very, very humbled,” says Yeow. “But it also meant a lot to me to simply be part of something OUWB was trying to build. Seeing how OUWB has continued to grow as a school and establish a foothold in the community makes me happy.”

“It makes my decision to have gone to OUWB all the more solidified and reassuring,” he adds.

‘Define my path’

Yeow grew up in Ann Arbor and attended Ann Arbor Huron High School. Seeking smaller class sizes and a location away from southeast Michigan, Yeow went to Grand Valley State University.

After he earned a bachelor’s degree from GVSU, Yeow had offers from three medical schools.

It was important to Yeow that wherever he went, he had experiences similar to what he had as an undergrad.

“I wanted something where I would have the ability to really define my path and that opportunity really manifested itself in OUWB,” says Yeow.

Yeow says one of the biggest draws for him to OUWB was school’s young age. At the time, he was interviewing for what would be the school’s second class, which had 75 members. (OUWB now admits 125 medical students per class.)

“When I interviewed, the first years said that the faculty and leadership really listen to feedback,” he says. “They noted that they were helping build the curriculum, build the school’s reputation…that really resonated well with me.”

Another big draw for Yeow, he says, was the school’s affiliation with Beaumont Health, and the fact that he would “get good clinical exposure, and have good mentorship.”

Lastly, attending OUWB would mean staying closer to family and friends.

When he made his finally decision, Yeow says he was “very excited about it.”

‘The humanity of medicine’

Yeow says OUWB met his expectations on several fronts.

When it came to student organizations, Yeow was involved with OUWB’s Radiology and Radiation Oncology Student Interest Group, as well as the school’s chapter of American Medical Association - Medical Student Section.

He also was among the earliest organizers of the Chandler Park Health Fair, now one of OUWB’s signature events held annually in January. Yeow also regularly volunteered during OUWB’s Day of Service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Yeow also was among the first at OUWB to be inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

Beyond the opportunities that student organizations and community service provided, Yeow says, it was the curriculum at OUWB that really set him up for success.

“There were many aspects of the curriculum that didn’t just focus on physiology and science,” he says. “Course like medical ethics, for example, really helped me remain grounded in the humanity of medicine.”

Diverse and rich clinical experiences at OUWB helped, too, he says.

Between M1 and M2 years, Yeow had an internship at Beaumont Health. It was for a cardiology rotation.

“Honestly, that was what really solidified my decision into doing internal medicine and ultimately cardiology,” he says. “I rotated through the cath lab, their echo lab, and imaging, and got to work with a number of their cardiologists. It really piqued my interest.”  

Specifically, Yeow says he enjoys the physiological aspects of cardiology as well as the multiple facets of care the specialty affords — ambulatory outpatient care in clinics, imaging, procedural, and so on.

“Cardiology was the perfect marriage to allow me to explore the various subspecialties, but then really drive home the lessons that I learned in the classroom about physiology and the human body,” he says.

A return to Ann Arbor

Yeow married his wife, Erika, during his fourth year of medical school.

Upon graduation in 2016, Yeow matched at University of Michigan. He and Erika still live in Ann Arbor.

By 2019, he was a chief medical resident in Michigan Medicine’s Department of Internal Medicine.

Since July 2020, Yeow has been in a cardiovascular medicine fellowship with Michigan Medicine. The fellowship is set to end in 2023.

Throughout his six years at Michigan Medicine, his focus has predominantly been on interventional cardiology.

“I love it here,” Yeow says of Michigan Medicine. “One reason I chose U of M was to be close to my family and my wife’s family, but also due to the exposure to diverse pathology from a cardiology perspective.”

Yeow says there are times when he uses lessons learned at OUWB.

“As we progress in medicine, there sometimes can be tunnel vision in terms of a treatment plan. A patient comes in for a condition and a decision is made for what will happen next,” says Yeow. “But it’s not always just X’s and O’s on a field. There are the 10 other intangible things that help build rapport with a patient, that drive home a treatment plan, and are enhanced by the humanity aspect of medicine.”

“OUWB helped me understand that practice is really an art.”

Even with his busy clinical schedule, Yeow says he strives to find time to give back to the community.

He’s been involved with a pipeline program called Operation Opportunity, which aims to expose local middle and high schoolers to the medical field.

Yeow’s also involved with the American College of Cardiology Young Scholars program. It too is a program that provides early exposure to youth of cardiology and cardiovascular disease.

Yeow says he’s interested in such programs because it’s the kind of thing he wishes he had as a young student.

“If I had this type of thing in high school, I think I would have had a little more of a defined path into medicine,” he says.

Yeow says he believes it’s important to find students who have an interest in medicine early so that others like him can help youngsters cultivate a path.

It’s also just one of the ways Yeow strives to carry forth the spirit of OUWB’s first Excellence in Public Health award.

“Being able to give back to the educational world is very rewarding,” he says.