Meet Linda Yun, Business Director of Clinical Operations in the Department of Anesthesiology. With a dynamic role that blends strategy, finance, and operations, Linda navigates the ever-changing demands of clinical administration to keep everything running seamlessly.
While my weekdays and weekends are pretty different, I started in my current role in April of 2024, so I feel like my mind is always full to the brim with work right now. The first year in a new role always feels like a whirlwind of learning the whole life cycle of things, so with that in mind, here’s a day in the life of a workday for me.
6:00-6:15 am – I hit the snooze button a few times before rolling out of bed. I’m not naturally a morning person so I always have two alarms set. I try to do a quick PQ rep, which is a tool I learned taking a mental fitness program. The PQ rep usually helps me settle (I pick some jarring alarm sounds for best effectiveness!) and focus before I start moving through my morning routine.
6:15-6:45 am – I check for any messages I may have missed from my early morning daily scheduling team member, and then skim my emails and my calendar for the day. If there’s anything urgent or would take me less than two minutes to handle, I try to tackle those right away.
6:45-7:00 am – I’ll grab a coffee and something quick like drinkable yogurts to tide me over until I’m ready for a meal. I usually also take this time to skim the news headlines and do some of the New York Times mini puzzles. I’m still trying to get past a Thursday crossword without using hints, but I’m on a 502-day streak with the Wordle!
7:00-8:30 am – I usually try to keep this time open on my schedule so I can organize the emails I have open from the previous day along with any new ones that came in and need to be addressed immediately. I also like to take this time to prepare my notes for the day’s meetings, or follow up with open items that I will need to address during any meetings as well.
8:30-9:00 am – If it’s an on-campus office day, I leave my house right around 8:30 am in hopes that most of the morning rush hour traffic has passed. Rush hour means an hour commute, and as someone who doesn’t love driving even at the best of times, long commutes are awful. If I’m working from home, by this point my stomach has woken up and is ready for something more substantial, so I usually take a break to grab some food. I always have bagels, toast, and Korean kimbap (similar to sushi rolls but fully cooked and usually not seafood based) readily available, so it’s quick and easy. This is definitely a perk of remote days; office days I usually try to hold out until lunch.
9:00 am – 5:30/6:00 pm – Work can vary day to day, but there’s always some combination of zoom or in-person meetings, working through emails/reports/tasks, and following up on open action items. I can be working on things related to the daily scheduling team, CRNA division operations, and general clinical operations. Scheduling is highly complex and it affects so many people in the department, so I’ve spent quite a lot of time dedicated to better understanding the daily scheduling processes.
I’m still a bit green in my role in Clinical Operations so I’m always learning something new or chasing something down to better understand. My roots in the department’s Clinical and Translational Research division gave me a great foundation, and every day has been a learning experience as I get more and more settled into Clinical Operations. Hopefully I can also start to grow my knowledge base with CRNA division operations in the days to come. I try my best to soak up as much as I can so I can successfully support those around me and do my job as best as I can. I say it often, but I’m a constant work in a progress. Something I’ve more recently tried to work in are the PQ reps to start the morning. These can be little mental breaks from 2-10 minutes that I take using an app guide. I do my best to get one in around mid-morning/noon, and hopefully one more mid-afternoon. I tend to get stressed or frazzled at some point in my day, so this mental fitness tool helps me get re- centered, and stay calm and focused. It’s not muscle memory yet, so I do them as best as I can.
6:00-8:00 pm – I’m usually dashing out the door and keeping my fingers crossed the traffic has died down and I’ll get to my weightlifting coach’s place in time for my session. I try to have a protein shake or energy bar while I drive. I started basic strength training with a friend in late 2018 because I’ve had a history of sports-related injuries and wanted to improve my future health. I like to say she Jedi-mind-tricked me into Olympic weightlifting (snatches and clean and jerks if you’re a strength workout fan!), but at the end of day it’s also because it’s a lot of fun and there’s nothing like squatting or throwing around heavy weights to get out your frustrations. These days my friend (and coach), helps me not only strengthen up, but she’s been setting up programs for me to get ready for an upcoming national meet! This is my second time qualifying for a national competition, but the nerves are still as if I’ve never competed, so she’s got me focused on drilling technical combinations. On the days I’m not training with my coach, I try to get in some other sort of activity. It usually depends on my energy level, so it could mean just a nice walk or it could be some circuits at the gym. Not every day is high energy, so sometimes it’s vegging out on the couch with a novel or doing one of my many puzzle books.
8:00-11:00 pm – I throw together a quick meal with rice and Korean side dishes. The side dishes are really the only way I know I can get a well-rounded fast meal within each day since they’re all prepped usually over the weekend. Then I can pair whichever ones I want with some rice. If it’s an earlier finish day, I try to grab dinner out with my partner and/or friends. There’s something about mid-week dinners out that are kind of re-energizing like it’s a weekend night. After dinner, I shower, check my email in case there’s anything I need to know before the next day (I can’t stop my myself!), check my calendar for upcoming meetings or deadlines, and then close things up spending some time catching up on social “stuff” like texts I missed earlier in the day, getting caught up with plans being organized, or just phone calls and Facetimes.
11:00 pm – If I’m not already drifting off, I generally throw on a Calm app sleep story (thank you to the department for this subscription! I love using it!) so I can wind down and fall asleep. My mind is one of those wonders that wants to be up and going when it’s late at night, so the Calm app helps me chill out and let my body get the sleep it so loves but for some reason doesn’t always settle into by a reasonable bed time.
Why should women in our department attend the WoW Retreat in April?
I’m so excited for the 3rd Annual WoW Retreat! I’ve really enjoyed that the retreat has evolved and feels so well-rounded. I love that it’s not focused on one-dimensional professional growth through career promotion or job skills development only. I still have takeaways from the imposter syndrome session from the first retreat that I think about to this day as good reminders. Then with the second retreat, I appreciated the recognition and focus on mental health support. It’s awesome to be part of a department that understands the value of people isn’t only about job-specific skills, but about the whole person. It’s also great to spend time getting to know other women of WUDA outside of the hospital, and most importantly having the space and time dedicated to feel seen and understood through a common lens. I’m excited for what’s in store at the next retreat!