Informational interview
- 1. Informational Interview Tuan Nguyenduy, MD Cardiothoracic Surgeon Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System • How did you get started in this field? o I enjoy helping people and I wanted something challenging. I was unsure which field of medicine to go into. It wasn’t until my third year of medical school that I started going through different rotations. At first, I liked pediatrics and I liked surgery. I thought I would become a pediatric surgeon. Then I had a chance to watch an open-‐heart surgery and I was very interested. I went through general surgery first and then got into the cardiac rotation. • What training or education is required for this type of work? o It has changed since I finished my training, but the whole thing is generally the same starting with medical school. I then had 5 years of general surgery and 2 years of specialized training in cardiothoracic surgery. I also did 2 years of research during my general surgery residency. Now you can do 3 years of general and 3-‐4 years of cardio or 1-‐2 years of general and 4-‐5 years of cardio. • What personal qualities or abilities are important to being successful? o It is important to be a hard worker. You need to be good at what you do. Another critical skill is dexterity and to have good hand eye coordination, especially with the new technology and instruments that require working through videos. You also have to use critical thinking skills in evaluations. • How did you get this position? What are common career paths? o I started by doing many interviews. I did my residency in a big city, so I had opportunities to work in cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston. I started off in my own practice, but later decided to move to the hospital. o Other career paths of surgery include general surgery, pediatrics, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and trauma. We also work with many internal medicine physicians. • What areas of knowledge are most important for advancement in this field? o A strong medical knowledge is important. It is important to know the human anatomy, especially the chest area with the heart and lungs. A surgeon is a medical doctor that knows how to operate.
- 2. • What degree? Certification? o You first get your M.D. or D.O. Then, you do your postgraduate training. Next, you do your fellowship. After, you must get certified in general surgery and then get certified in cardiothoracic surgery. In order to become certified, you must pass the board exams. This consists of a multiple-‐choice section and then an oral examination. • If you were starting out again, would you do anything differently? o No, not really. The only thing I might have done was to look more into ophthalmology because I now see an interest in it that I didn’t earlier in medical school. • What do you do on a typical day in this position? o I usually go in at 7:30-‐8:00 and leave around 6:00 or 7:00. I see patients in the office once a week and operate the other 4 days of the week. I’m in the OR for the majority of the day and then make rounds and check up on patients in post-‐op after. • What part of this job do you find the most challenging or satisfying? o It is challenging when we run into unexpected situations and I have to make critical decisions based on my experiences in order to create the best outcome. o The satisfying part is helping patients and being able to see them well. Surgeons tend to be impatient and want to see immediate results. • What are the positive/negative aspects of working in this field? o Positive: I enjoy my job, it is fun and I get to help people at the same time. I get to work in a high tech field and get to use new machines and technology. I like the challenge involved in this position too. o Negative: Patients are sick and in pain. The hours can be long. There is also a risk of getting sued. • How many hours do you typically work each week? Do you often work evenings and weekends? Can you arrange your own hours? o I work anywhere from 60-‐90 hours a week. I am on call every third day and every third weekend. I can arrange my hours, but we are usually busy. I do have vacation days that are flexible and fair between my partners and I. • What is a typical starting salary? Average salary? Other benefits? o The typical starting salary is about $300,000-‐350,000. An average salary is about $400,000-‐450,000. Some even make more depending on where you work. Some big names from Stanford make around $800,000-‐1,000,000.
- 3. • What are some of the rewards of your occupation? o I get to treat and care for patients to help them get well. By working for the hospital, they pay for my medical insurance and malpractice. When I had my private practice, I had to get my own insurance. • What are the geographical restrictions in this field? How much are you required to travel? o It is not very restricted. Cardio can set up in any location if you get a referral. The hospital must have the proper equipment that can handle a heart program. o I don’t travel much. I only travel for annual meetings for societies and associations that I am involved in. • Would you rather work for a smaller or a larger company? Why? o Ideally, I would rather work for a smaller, private company with 3-‐4 doctors. However, in private practice there are uninsured patients that we care for and do not get paid accordingly. In hospitals, we don’t have to worry about that and are paid a base salary. We also don’t have to worry about hiring and taking care of the staff. • Is there a demand for people in this occupation? o Yes there is a demand, especially in this field because there are not as many going into cardio because reimbursement is down. • What special advice would you give a person entering in this field? o Work hard. It is very demanding work. You have to like it or you wont be able to do a good job. Don’t do it for the money. • What, if anything, do you wish you had known before you entered this occupation? o I did not know how much time and hours were required for this job. It is time consuming, but it is very rewarding to help people and you make a decent living. I have no regrets.