APMA News - September/October 2017 - 90

10 Questions
Featuring Tea Nguyen, DPM, of Santa Cruz, CA
In this feature, APMA News asks one member 10 questions
and gets all the answers about his or her passions, ambitions,
and priorities. Would you like to answer our questions? Contact
Aimee Condayan at arcondayan@apma.org.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you
grew up?
Honestly, I had no future plans as a kid. I was living
day to day watching my parents balance their two
jobs, getting by paycheck to paycheck, while raising
four kids. My immigrant parents wanted me to blend
in and not cause trouble. None of us ever thought
becoming a doctor was possible!

What do you do for fun during your time off?
I love exploring new things and traveling to new places
when I get the chance. It's uncomfortable and unsettling
to be in unfamiliar places, but I push myself to get outside of my comfort zone so I can truly appreciate what
life is really about. I won't tell you what life is about-
you'll have to figure that out on your own.

For work, I ask my old classmates or co-residents for
advice all the time. They definitely know more than I
do! They are all over the world, so it's neat to see what
their perspectives are like.

Why is podiatry the best career for you?

What would your last meal be?
Bún bò Hu, a popular dish in central Vietnam. It's a
spicy, salty beef-based broth with rice noodles. Feels
like home.

What is your favorite vacation spot, and why?
Italy. It was my first international trip, and I have a soft
spot for nostalgia. Amazing food, culture, and history.

90 APMA News September/October 2017

Tell us about a patient who changed your life/your approach to medicine/your outlook.
Early in residency, I had a very sick patient who would
have benefited from an amputation. She would have
been able to move on with her life, but she didn't see
it that way. An amputation was essentially a death sentence, and she didn't want to subject her family to caring for her. The patient was septic and deteriorating
fast but adamantly refused any sort of amputation. Her
family begged her to have the surgery, but instead she
let it take her life. That experience made me realize I
should have been more mindful of the patient's wishes.
After all, she was the one who would have to live without a leg, not me. I'm never at peace with her passing
but have learned to step back and listen to my patients'
wishes. I now tell patients they always have a choice,
to do something or to do nothing.

If you could meet any famous person, who would it be,
and why?

Podiatry is an incredibly dynamic field, and it has surprised me in so many ways. There are so many facets,
allowing us to truly be excellent in the lower extremity.
With the advancement of our education, technology,
and our patients' demands, podiatry is the best-kept
secret in medicine.

What is the biggest change you've seen in podiatric medicine since you started practicing?
Wound care has advanced to the point of using advanced microvascular surgical techniques. We are not
only learning from experienced podiatrists, but we also
tag-team with science engineers in the biologics department and plastic surgeons internationally to strengthen
our surgical armamentarium.

I love Ellen DeGeneres. She symbolizes everything I
admire: kind, funny, vulnerable, honest. She does
what many of us are afraid to do: be true to ourselves
and stand up for what's right. I would love to stand on
her shoulders and observe her life as a public figure
and humanitarian.

Where or to whom do you go for advice?

10.

What mistake have you made that taught you a great lesson?
I was not doing so well in my residency and started to
lose sight of the big picture of becoming a surgeon. I
started to feel victimized, outcast for making mistakes.
I took it personally-I was no longer learning how to
practice medicine but was learning how to be defensive because I was afraid to be wrong. When I changed
my attitude, everything else changed, too. I am now
very open about being wrong, and learned that that's
actually okay. My patients truly appreciate my being
honest about my limitations.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - September/October 2017