Healing Patients, Nurturing Plants
Transplant surgeon finds joy in saving lives and growing plants
Jenny Lam, MD, Scripps Clinic
Transplant surgeon finds joy in saving lives and growing plants
Scripps Clinic transplant surgeon Jenny Lam, MD, spends her days planning and performing liver, kidney and pancreas transplants, as well as other pancreas and liver surgeries.
“In many scenarios, I’m able to give people a second chance at life,” Dr. Lam says, “and I really enjoy being able to help and care for patients in that way.”
When she hangs up her white coat and heads home for the night, she continues to be a caretaker — but for a very different population.
A green thumb after hours
Dr. Lam is the proud owner of more than 200 plants. And if it sounds like a stretch to compare caring for plants to caring for people, allow Dr. Lam to change your mind.
“In the hospital, every day you check on patients, seeing what they need. You always pay attention to make sure you’re not missing anything. You make changes if you need to and then often have to wait to see those changes make an impact,” she says.
“And through that continued observation, patience and dedication, you’re hopefully able to give your patients the best outcomes. That’s all very similar to caring for plants.
“Every day, I have to check on my plants, see who needs watering, who maybe needs some extra care so they don’t get pests,” she continues. “And the joy of seeing my plants thrive mirrors the fulfillment I feel when helping my patients achieve better health.”
Finding meditative calm
While the parallels between plant care and patient care are obvious to Dr. Lam, she tries not to think about work while she’s tending to her plants. “Taking care of plants is very meditative for me,” she says. “Sometimes the little things, like seeing a plant start flowering, can give you a sense of calm.”
Dr. Lam has a special fondness for Hoya plants and has more than 100 species.
“When I started getting into Hoyas, that took me over the edge into plant obsession,” she says with a laugh.
She likes this leafy genus because “it blooms with a bunch of small flowers, and each different species of Hoya has its own flower.”
Her favorite species of Hoya is the Hoya Wilbur Graves. It’s a rare plant and one that her husband gifted her for her birthday one year. It also happens to be the namesake of her son, Wilbur. “It’s a really special plant for me,” she says.
From one plant to hundreds
Despite her self-proclaimed plant obsession, Dr. Lam didn’t always have a green thumb.
“I grew up in Las Vegas, which is not really a place where plants thrive,” she says. When she moved to San Diego, the climate and greenery inspired her new hobby. “Initially, I just got one plant,” she says. “And then that turned into, well, hundreds of plants.”
Her time at Scripps has also encouraged her hobby. “Scripps is full of people who have interesting hobbies outside of medicine,” she says. “And when you have hobbies that fulfill you at home, that allows you to come to the hospital and do your best work.”
This content appeared in San Diego Health, a publication in partnership between Scripps and San Diego Magazine that celebrates the healthy spirit of San Diego.