Sonia Yuen, MD

About Dr. Yuen

From an early age, Dr. Sonia Yuen was impacted by her father’s passion for medicine. “It was contagious,” she says. “I tried to keep an open mind about future careers during college, but medicine was the perfect career to combine my love for helping people, learning science, performing art through surgery and teaching.” Sonia actually comes from a long line of physicians, including her grandfather, father, siblings and many cousins.

As an otolaryngologist, or ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist, Dr. Yuen treats people surgically and medically with a broad range of conditions that can affect their ears, nose, mouth, throat or neck. She loves the intricate connections of the head and neck region and explains, “All these structures contribute to how we communicate with the world – through facial expression, sight, hearing, speech, smell, taste, etc. – and it is my privilege to help others with issues in these areas.”

She chose to practice at Beacon because of the friendly team of people and the excellent care they provide. “Medicine is such a team sport,” she explains, “and to be able to work with such an all-star team is a dream come true.”

When asked about her philosophy for practicing medicine, Dr. Yuen believes in open, honest communication and empowering her patients with information that helps them make decisions together. She also recalls the words of her mentor and asks herself: If he or she were your family member, what would you do? “I’ve found myself often saying that it’s my privilege to care for others – young and old,” she says. “People are entrusting me to use my medical knowledge and skills to help better their lives, and I do not take that lightly. I believe that if I treat my patients with the same care and attention as I would for my family members, then I will have tried my best.”

In Her Own Words

Who is or was the most influential person/role model in your life? My husband has been on this adventure with me through college, medical school, research years, residency, and parenthood. I’m grateful for all the sacrifices he’s made for my career and all the advice he’s given me. Our journey together has made me a more well-rounded person, and I credit all my accomplishments partly to him. To say I married up is a very large understatement.

What is your favorite food? Movie? What was your best/worst subjects in school growing up? My husband always laughs at me because it’s hard for me to say I have favorites – I love a lot of things! One of my favorite foods is a Chinese eggplant dish that I always look for when I’m at a Chinese restaurant. I enjoy watching Netflix documentaries while I exercise, and we like watching Marvel and Disney movies. My best subjects in school were science and art, and my worst was social studies.

If you could sit down to dinner with anyone (alive or deceased) who would it be and why? It would be amazing to meet and talk with Barack Obama. He’s a great speaker and his passion for the world is evident. Making decisions that impact the world at such a level is such a weighty burden, and it would be incredible to hear how he dealt with that.

In addition to medicine, what are you passionate about? What are your hobbies, interests? My faith and family help center me, and I am very interested in sustainability and caring for the environment. I hope to keep expanding my vegetable garden year by year and grow some fruit trees!