Dr. Tuan Nguyenduy is a cardiothoracic surgeon at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System who became interested in cardiac surgery after observing an open-heart surgery in medical school. He completed medical school, 5 years of general surgery residency, 2 years of cardiothoracic surgery fellowship, and obtained board certification in both general and cardiothoracic surgery. A typical day involves seeing patients one day a week in the office and operating the other four days, finding the most challenging and satisfying aspects to be handling unexpected situations critically and helping patients recover.

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.