Newly graduated, Samuel Lui has big dreams for the future. He wants to provide better healthcare for developing nations. 

He knows of some concrete steps to take, such as getting a master’s degree in health administration to work on policy level change. He also feels called to live permanently in whichever developing nation he will be serving. 

But right now, Samuel finds himself working a contractor job in billing in the radiology department of a large hospital. His job isn’t about giving himself experience to enact policies that would bring about humanitarian efforts. Instead, it often entails calling patients to inform them that their insurance policy will not be able to pay for their cancer treatment.

“Hello sir, I’m calling to let you know that your insurance authorization is still pending. Yes, I understand this is short notice, but our hospital system only schedules authorizations five days ahead. No, we’re not doing this just to get you to cancel. I understand and I’m sorry, but this is where we’re at.”

It’s emotionally draining, and at times, it’s hard for Samuel to see how he’s getting any closer to his dreams. On top of this, wanting more from his job right now can seem ungrateful or unrealistic — especially when most of his peers and classmates who just graduated are still unemployed.

A New Dream Formed

Samuel’s passion for healthcare began in high school with the influence of his biology teachers at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, Calif. These teachers not only taught him to enjoy biology, but also inspired him to pursue a career in medicine or education. With his love for children, Samuel’s dream at that time was to become a pediatrician.

After a tough first year in college at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, this pediatrician-hopeful found himself facing a roadblock.

“I struggled academically in classes I wasn’t particularly enjoying. When I went to talk with my counselor after freshman year, she told me I wouldn’t make it to med school because of my grades.” 

Early in his second year, Samuel was introduced to public health through a professor from his first quarter who reached out to him. This proved to be a turning point. As Samuel began to explore this subject through various classes, he began to be drawn toward making an impact on a wider scale.

“Doctors impact change patient by patient. I wanted to affect change population by population.”

In his last summer of college, Samuel went on a mission trip for six weeks to China, where he felt God solidifying his heart for developing countries. Samuel now wanted to pursue a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in a program that would blend health administration and global administration.

“It wasn’t easy letting go of my dream to be a pediatrician. But learning about public health opened my eyes to how many people needed help, especially on a global scale.”

Where He is Now

After graduation, Samuel found himself a medical billing job in the radiology department of a prestigious hospital at an off-site clinic. He had been applying to a variety of jobs in healthcare even before he graduated, but finding a relevant position was not easy, and hearing back from these positions happened infrequently.

This current position, through a contracting company that staffs hospitals, means that he doesn’t get benefits or holiday and overtime pay. Even the length of time he will be working here is uncertain.

Samuel’s daily tasks include sorting emails by date and trying to stay two days ahead of schedule. He also contacts patients about their current insurance situation. When a patient’s insurance authorization is denied, he must relay to them a difficult choice: reschedule their appointment, or pay out of pocket.

Coming in at a sensitive and vulnerable time in these patients’ lives, Samuel’s job is much more than the menial tasks of paper pushing and routine phone calls. In these moments, Samuel is called to meet and build relationships with people who are in the middle of fighting cancer, guiding them through the insurance process.

“Sometimes, patients start to yell things like, ‘Why are you doing this to me?’ I try tokeep [things in] perspective and know that they just need to vent. I need to not take it personally and still be a representative of the hospital.” 

As the middle man, Samuel finds himself bearing the brunt of a hospital system’s inefficiencies while carrying the emotional baggage of the sick and hurting it seeks to help — and being careful about not letting it crush him in the process.

But in the midst of what appears to be an unrewarding job, Samuel finds moments of significance when procedures do work out.

When his effective communication results in successfully resolving patients’ insurance requirements in time for their appointments, he experiences the triumph of navigating the system as a patient advocate.

A grateful patient left a poignant message on Samuel’s answering machine, which he keeps on his phone today as encouragement and motivation. “Sam, you are such a rockstar! Thanks for going above and beyond what you [are] called to do to make sure I would be authorized for the procedure. Thanks for all your help!”

Sitting in the clinic, surrounded by voices of patients who were turned down, it’s easy for Samuel to wonder where everything is going. But as he looks back and sees how the door of one dream was closed to open the door to an even bigger dream and how certain people showed up in his life at the right moments to guide him, Samuel sees an active God.

And it is this active God who empowers him even at his current job, who allows him to work from the bottom up to understand the cracks in the healthcare system and the unique needs of patients in his care.

“This isn’t what I would have chosen for myself — but there are invaluable things I’m learning here that show me I’m right where I need to be right now.”

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom”  (Ecclesiastes 9:10 NIV).