Hello, I’m Dr. Lim!
A little about me
I worked as a general pediatrician for 5 years in San Luis Obispo on the California Central Coast before switching to telemedicine after the death of my son. Previous to that, I was a general pediatrician at a rural clinic for farm-working families in Salinas Valley and a NICU hospitalist at UC Davis, where I also helped set up a pediatric hospitalist program at a local community hospital.
I was honored as First 5 San Luis Obispo County's Hands-On Hero in Sept 2021 for my work in the community, where I served on the steering committee for the area’s new Help Me Grow program and championed the state of California’s ACEs Aware campaign to do more screening, prevention, and treatment around toxic stress. I am currently on the board for the Northwest Children’s Foundation, which funds programs that help end the intergenerational cycle of child abuse, neglect, and trauma.
My training
I studied Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley, with a music minor. I earned my MD and MPH from the University of Washington in Seattle, completed my internship at the University of Hawaii, and finished residency at Children’s National Medical Center in DC. I also received a healthcare MBA at George Washington University. I am a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
I have also been trained by the WA Autism Centers of Excellence and regularly participate in ECHO meetings that allow providers to learn from each other through de-identified patient cases.
There is inherent grief in parenting as our children grow and change, just as we can grieve and celebrate different versions of ourselves.
My personal experiences have also profoundly shaped the way I practice medicine.
I was born in Singapore and grew up in Portland, OR as the oldest of 4 children and the sibling of a child with a disability. My family’s stories of survival through poverty, war, and mental illness gave me a deep appreciation for resilience and the ways families carry trauma and strength across generations.
My life experiences help me meet families where they are with compassion and curiosity, caring for them as a whole rather than focusing on the patient alone. I believe it is possible to grieve the journey we imagined while still discovering new ways to thrive.
Fun Facts:
I am a classically-trained pianist. I also sing and love to paint with watercolors and acrylics. I speak Mandarin and English and dabble in Spanish and French. I live with my husband, Forest’s little sister, and 2 dogs in Seattle. We love spending time in nature and finding signs from Forest, always wishing for more sun and shade.