Sara Kim, PhD

Dr. Sara Kim is a Research Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington (UW), where she earned her PhD in Education in 1999. She holds the George G. B. Bilsten Professorship in the Art of Communication with Peers and Patients and currently serves as the department’s Executive and Professional Development Coach, supporting surgical faculty, residents, and staff.

From 2015 to 2025, Dr. Kim served as Associate Dean for Educational Quality Improvement at the UW School of Medicine. Since 2014, Dr. Kim has led innovative research in conflict management, partnering with clinical, administrative, and educational stakeholders across UW Medicine. She and her team have developed and delivered training programs on conflict dialogue and speaking-up skills to more than 20,000 healthcare professionals. Her work was previously supported by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation for Humanism in Medicine and UW Medicine’s Patient Safety Innovation Program (PSIP).

With numerous peer-reviewed publications in leading medical education and specialty journals, her research focuses on enhancing communication for conflict resolution and navigating power hierarchies. She is also a certified leadership coach and a mediator with the King County Dispute Resolution Center in Washington State.