Laura Wung, MD, Receives Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award

Laura Wung, MD, is the recipient of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award presented by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. This award is presented annually to faculty who best demonstrate the foundation’s ideals of outstanding compassion in the delivery of care, respect for patients, their families and health-care colleagues, as well as clinical excellence.

An assistant professor of medicine who has served on the faculty since 2002, Wung is a primary care physician at Boston Medical Center (BMC). Her passion for working with traditionally underserved patient populations started during her medical school rotations in New York’s Bellevue Hospital and grew during her primary care residency at BMC.

A colleague describes Wung as someone who exemplifies humanism and scientific excellence in the delivery of care to patients and their families. “Dr. Wung is well respected by her colleagues for her outstanding clinical role in primary care and is consistently described as being singularly focused on the care and welfare of her patients.”

Another of her colleagues stated, “Though deeply respected by trainees, staff and fellow faculty, Laura is humble and giving, almost to a fault. I would trust my family and closest friends to her care and consider her one of my most valued friends and colleagues.”

Wung’s students also see her as an exemplary physician. Her bedside manner, in particular, is a model for all interns and residents. “She is compassionate, caring, patient and respectful of all patients. As trainees, we strive to model her behavior as the gold standard. It is clear that her patients trust her and feel safe with their care under her guidance. Not only is she a trusted mentor, but she is cherished by colleagues and other primary care staff. It has been a pleasure to be under her mentorship for the past three years,” states one of her residents.

Wung graduated cum laude from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges in 1995 with an undergraduate degree in applied math in economics and earned her medical degree at New York University in 1999. Her expertise includes resident and medical student teaching and patient education. She is committed to improving health literacy and health care outcomes in underserved or disadvantaged populations, and as a bilingual provider, has a special interest in Latino health. Wung’s lifelong curiosity about people’s lives and motivations and deep belief in the need to educate and empower patients to take control of their own health continue to guide her study and practice of medicine.

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is a public, nonprofit organization founded by the late Arnold Gold, MD, and his wife Sandra Gold, EdD, to perpetuate the tradition of the caring doctor by emphasizing the importance of the relationship between the practitioner and the patient. Our objective is to help physicians-in-training become doctors who combine the high-tech skills of cutting-edge medicine with the high touch skills of effective communication, empathy and compassion.