Dr. Sarah Rhee Kim

Dr. Kim’s path to medicine began with a pivot. Initially a computer science and electrical engineering major at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she found herself increasingly drawn by a desire to connect with and help other people. “I was spending most of my day coding on a computer,” she says, "and I really wanted more of a personal connection and to make an impact that I could feel directly.” She added pre-medical coursework to her engineering degree, and ultimately enrolled at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. “I haven't looked back since,” she says.

In medical school, Dr. Kim gravitated to endocrinology for an unexpected reason: its logic reminded her of computer science. “What drew me in was the physiology: with our hormones, we have feedback loops that really impact how the body functions. Like in computer science, one thing impacts another, and that thing then impacts another thing, and that tracks back into the original reaction that was being produced to help regulate the body,” she says. “It’s amazing what the human body can do.”

Dr. Kim completed her internal medicine residency and endocrinology fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles, then joined the faculty of the UCLA Division of Endocrinology, where she spent 10 years as a clinician, teacher, and clinical leader, becoming Endocrinology Section Chief at UCLA’s Santa Monica Hospital. She considers herself a general endocrinologist, seeing patients across the full range of endocrine conditions, including thyroid disorders, diabetes, osteoporosis, parathyroid disorders, hypogonadism, reproductive issues, adrenal disorders, and more.

Over the course of her career, she has watched the field shift significantly. As the clinical understanding and cultural conversations around metabolic health have transformed, patients arrive with more knowledge about their own metabolic health—and more questions about how to improve it. “In endocrinology we’ve been working on this for a long time,” Dr. Kim says, “and we are now equipped with many tools that can truly help patients and address some of those concerns.”

Teaching was central to her time at UCLA. As an Assistant Clinical Professor at UCLA, Dr. Kim trained endocrinology fellows, internal medicine residents, and medical students from the university’s David Geffen School of Medicine. “When you’re a teacher, you're not only aiming to help whoever the learner is, but you end up bettering yourself in the end,” she says. “I love being able to share my knowledge and explain how to communicate with patients. It’s so important to really show future doctors how you can be a good listener, be empathetic, and help the patient fully understand their health plan."

Dr. Kim brings that same philosophy to her clinical work. When she meets a new patient, her first priority is listening. “The most important thing is for the patient to be heard,” she says. This ensures she understands why each person is coming to see her, what their goals are, and any other medical conditions or circumstances that might impact their care. “If we're not listening, then we can’t really address their concerns appropriately,” Dr. Kim says.

Dr. Kim is particularly enthusiastic about the potential for technology to help people make proactive changes, such as when continuous glucose monitors can offer insights for people who are at risk for or have prediabetes. “I help people come up with a plan and know what the next steps are,” she says. “And ultimately, I love when they come back to see me and they're doing so much better. It can be life-changing.”

This preventive approach is epitomized in the care at Atria, Dr. Kim says. “I'm interested in looking at endocrine conditions in a more preventive, proactive way that there isn’t always time for in traditional health care settings,” she says. “Atria’s model and the collaboration across specialties gives us the opportunity to focus on that and really make meaningful changes that will affect the metabolic health outcomes of our patients in a profound way.”

Dr. Kim lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their three children. She enjoys cooking with her family, playing tennis, hiking, and traveling.