Dr. Verna Yiu decided she wanted to be a pediatrician at 12 years old. “There were three things that led to that decision,” she says. “I started babysitting, I fell in love with biology in Grade 7 and one of our family friends was a physician who did house calls when I was sick.” Those early experiences combined curiosity with compassion, sparking a lifelong interest in caring for children and families.
That determination carried her through medical school at the University of Alberta and through one of her earliest setbacks.
Before CaRMS, applicants applied to each residency program separately and Dr. Yiu wasn’t even offered an interview for the U of A’s pediatrics program. “It was very upsetting,” she says. “But my preceptors at the Charles Camsell Hospital advocated for me and I did end up getting a position.” The experience shaped how she viewed herself and her career. “You have to be visible and vocal about your abilities,” she says. “Don’t assume your CV or marks speak for themselves.”
Residency itself was grueling. “We did call one in three,” she recalls. “At one point, I was close to burnout, especially during my oncology rotation, where many of the children we cared for passed away.” One night on call remains etched in her memory. “I was asked not to transfuse a young boy with hepatocellular carcinoma who was bleeding to death. He was palliative. I stayed with his parents as they watched their son slowly pass away. I’ve never forgotten that feeling of helplessness.”
Those early lessons of compassion and humility have guided her through every phase of her career. “There’s no cost to kindness,” she says. “It’s so important to treat everyone with the same respect and empathy you’d want for your own loved ones.”
Dr. Yiu’s connection to Alberta runs deep. Her family immigrated to Edmonton from Hong Kong in the late 1960s, sponsored by Dr. Harry Gunning - then a chemistry professor, later the president of the University of Alberta. “We have deep roots with both the city and the university,” she says. “It’s home for us, for our kids and now our grandchildren.” Over the years, she’s come to appreciate how staying in Alberta has shaped both her work and her life. “Being in one place allows you to build trusting relationships over many years,” she says. “It helps to know the system and the people in it - at the university, in the health system and in the community.”
Residency gave Dr. Yiu the foundation she needed to grow both as a clinician and a leader. “The intense training we receive as physicians is very helpful in leadership,” she says. “We’re taught to be systematic and thorough in our thinking, to ask questions, evaluate evidence and make decisions - even when the evidence isn’t clear.” Those lessons, she adds, became invaluable as her career evolved beyond clinical medicine into education and health system leadership.
As a pediatric nephrologist and educator, Dr. Yiu built a career that would later expand far beyond the clinic. In 2011, she stepped in as interim Dean of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta following a leadership controversy. “It was one of the best years of my leadership career,” she says. “We went from a demoralized faculty to one that saw itself as stronger together. Lifting people up, that was the most rewarding part.”
A few years later, she would face an even greater test: leading Alberta Health Services through the COVID-19 pandemic as President and CEO. “A pandemic is the biggest test for any health-care system,” she says. “It was 24/7 for two years… harder than any one in three call. But it was also the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I’m so proud of everyone who worked tirelessly in the COVID response.”
Looking back, Dr. Yiu credits her mentors and sponsors; people who saw potential in her before she saw it in herself. “I’ve been so fortunate to have had mentors and sponsors who opened doors that might not have been open otherwise,” she says.
Today, she remains a steadfast advocate for publicly funded health care. “Health care is a basic human right,” she says. “We can’t deny access to care because of someone’s ability to pay. Having done some training in the United States, I’ve seen what happens when private health care dominates - the inequities are stark. That is why I chose to come back to Canada and one of the reasons why I am so proud to be Canadian.”
Dr. Yiu continues to see medicine not just as a career, but as an identity. “I’m forever grateful for the privilege of being trusted by strangers,” she says. “The very presence of the MD grants us the honour of being let into their lives. We should never take that for granted.”
As PARA marks its 50th anniversary, her message to the next generation of physicians is simple: live with gratitude. “We are so fortunate to do what we do,” she says.
