Life is but a dream (come true)

Scattered throughout the office are myriad works of art, each one a labor of love. There are finger paintings, crayon drawings and pencil sketches of all sorts, a reindeer with green antlers -- two tiny handprints -- and even an embossed portrait of a cowboy boot, its glossy surface aglow from the sunshine streaming through the window.

The vibrant decor of Dr. Emily Wong's office is in stark contrast to the cautious precision required by her profession, general internal medicine. Still, her children's artwork, which accompanies the numerous family photos and one of her own drawings, is as fitting to Wong's world as the white lab flung over her chair. She is a busybody, full of vigor, into everything from yoga to cross-country skiing to embroidery.

"She always keeps up with everything, has tons of energy," said Deborah Lum, who recently worked with Wong on a survey of career satisfaction among UW physicians. Earlier this week, Wong presented the results of the survey as the final requirement of her master's degree in health administration, a two-year program.

In addition to her duties as attending physician and assistant professor of medicine, Wong is also the director of the UW Women's Health Care Center and the UW Center of Excellence in Women's Health, one of only 15 such centers in the nation dedicated to improving the health of minority and underserved women.

Wong is at the forefront of the still-evolving field of women's health, which in the past 10 years has developed into a far more integrated system of treating women's health issues. Unlike most women's clinics of the past, newer ones, like the one Wong heads, are starting to consolidate various medical disciplines -- obstetrics and gynecology, surgery and urology -- into one area.

"Over time, it's just become something that women as consumers are demanding -- less fragmentation and more of a comprehensive approach to their care," Wong said of this concept. "Really, having all those disciplines together is pretty unique."

As a general internist, Wong treats her patients mostly for "bread-and-butter internal-medicine stuff" -- things like fatigue, stress, heart and kidney disease, emphysema and diabetes. The benefit of the UW's women's clinic, she said, is the multidisciplinary approach to medicine, which means less hassle for patients.

"Normally, if a woman has some problem with her reproductive system, she would have to see a gynecologist separately to [be treated], whereas with us, she can remain right there in the same clinic," Wong said. "Similarly, if somebody is used to just seeing their [obstetrician] on a yearly basis for their annual exams and something comes up, and all of a sudden their thyroid is out of whack or they have high blood pressure, then they can come over and see the primary-care docs and not have to go across town and see somebody totally different."

Wong's dedication to the clinic, as well as to the Center of Excellence, has brought her much success, and with it came recognition from publications such as Working Woman, Esquire and Self, all of which called upon Wong for her expertise.

"Anytime [general internal medicine] comes up, there's not too many people to point to," Wong said with a laugh.

Even so, others have taken notice of her work as well, including Career Communications Group, Inc. (CCG), which for almost 20 years has celebrated the career accomplishments of minority women and their commitment to helping others succeed.

In April, Wong and Mae Mar Chin, a clinical associate professor of dentistry at the UW, were among 30 women nationwide who received the 2002 Women of Color in Health, Science and Technology Special Recognition Award.

Wong's award, a book-sized plague of polished wood and glass, is displayed prominently on her office windowsill, a few feet from the embossed cowboy boot. It stands as a tangible, glistening tribute to her accomplishments, and to those of women like her.

"I think when you think of women of color, a lot of times it's like they're athletic stars or movie stars or music stars, and I think [CCG is] really committed to promoting the fact that there are women of color in non-traditional areas, like science and technology," Wong said. "I feel really fortunate to be included in a group of really talented people."

To those who know Wong, there is no one more deserving of the award.

"I've always been impressed with her clinic and her administrative work, and how she sets things up with her staff and her patients," Lum said. "She's one of those perfect people."

"She's a great person, very energetic," said Dr. Christina Surawicz, a professor of medicine in the gastroenterology division at the Harborview Medical Center who nominated Wong for the award. "She's good about looking at all sides of issues. She's passionate. She's got great terrific judgment."

Wong's judgment is so sharp, Surawicz added, that even though she is "quite a few years older" than her colleague, she often turns to Wong for advice.

It is clear Wong is no longer the wide-eyed pre-med student who came to the United States from Hong Kong in the early 1980s. Equipped with an M.D. from the UW and with five years at UCLA under her belt, three as a resident and two as a faculty member, Wong is now an accomplished physician. She has worked at the clinic since 1995, eager to learn more about her profession while living out a childhood fantasy that was born out of a simple love for the life sciences and a perpetual fascination with medicine and health care.

"It's kind of hard to put my finger on what it was exactly," Wong said of what made her choose medicine as a career. "I don't know where I got the idea, but ever since I can remember, I wanted to be in health care or medicine."

Wong attributes her success to years of hard work and a little bit of luck -- such as meeting people like Dr. Susan Marshall, who is now the assistant dean for curriculum at the UW Medical Center, and Dr. Eric Marshall, now the director of the UW Medical Center, in her early days at the UW.

"I've had the most incredible mentors," said Wong, who now enjoys "getting to know patients over time, being a part of their lives, being able to share the most intimate parts of their lives and being able to help them in a time of need," thanks, in part, to the encouragement of her mentors.

As for additional encouragement, well ...

"My mom always told me," Wong said with a laugh, "'If you don't get into medical school, honey, you can always marry a doctor.'"

No need for that. Wong is now in her 12th year of marriage to her husband, Harold, a UW graduate who works for a business-development firm, and with whom she has two children, Ian, 9, and Erin, 7. Medical school panned out pretty well, too. She even has the hardware to prove it: a work of art in itself.