Role: Senior Project Manager
Joined SHN: 2019
Coming from: Tianjin, China
Healthcare Experience: Over 16 years
Loves outside work: I enjoy coaching youth basketball — helping kids build confidence, discipline, and joy through sport. It’s also my way of fostering visibility and representation for Asian youth and giving back to the community.
“Sharing different perspectives brings me the most joy at work. Join a team that values every voice.”
Sen’s story
Hospitals are the places I know best in this world. Before coming to Canada, I graduated from medical school and worked in a hospital in Tianjin, China. I was there for 10 years. This was a time of evolution in China, when many young doctors and healthcare professionals, including myself, were encouraged to transform our roles. We were introduced to new quality and management concepts from the US, Canada, and Japan, which sparked our interest in the broader world around us. So, I transitioned from being a clinician to becoming a project manager for hospital programs.
I came to Canada in 2017 and settled in Scarborough, with my wife and daughter joining me in 2019. When I had my job interview at Scarborough Health Network (SHN), I fell in love with the environment, dynamic, and excitement of this growing organization. Luckily, I got hired and have been here ever since.
As a Senior Project Manager on the Facility Planning, Redevelopment & Project Management Office Team, I assist a wide range of projects through the Project Management Cycle—each with its own opportunities, challenges, and goals. One project I’m especially proud of supporting is our front-end model of care, which reimagines how emergency department care is delivered. So far, the project team has implemented the front-end model of care at the Birchmount and General hospitals, and it’s gotten a lot of praise. Teams from other hospitals have even come to SHN to observe this model in action.
Another project I’m currently supporting is our Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Stage 7 validation. This is the highest international recognition for digital health maturity, and achieving HIMSS Stage 7 would showcase the quality of SHN’s digital health services. It’s truly an honour to advance these types of projects that have such a big impact on our healthcare system.
Working at SHN has given me the opportunity to see different perspectives. I was used to a very top-down culture prior to joining SHN, but here, everyone has a voice, can express their feelings, and share ideas from a different lens. Together, we make things happen, and this makes people happier in their work life. I feel it not only during my projects, but it spills over outside of projects.
This collaborative approach can be as simple as having food and drinks. I remember my first year at SHN, during the holiday time one afternoon, when there were just two of us in the office. One of my colleagues brought dates and coffee, and we enjoyed them together. In my journey at SHN, I have learned that sharing with each other is an important part of culture that brings people closer while fostering appreciation and gratitude.
As a hospital, this culture is not just something among our staff, physicians and learners. It’s also part of the way we care for and serve patients, families and the community at SHN. People from all backgrounds come together to strengthen their communities, and it feels like a collective effort.
I love hospitals, and seeing patients happily leaving the hospital is the best thing in my life. If someone wants to work in a hospital, they should have a similar passion for people and their happiness. I look forward to continuing to grow and being part of my SHN team and Scarborough community.