05/25

For my fourth and final interview, I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Feng-Ming Tien (田豐銘), a physician in the Department of Internal Medicine at the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH). His specialty is in hematology and his research primarily focuses on hematologic malignancies. I was very fortunate to be introduced to him through my research professor for this summer, Dr. Tsai!

To start off the interview, I first asked Dr. Tien to briefly talk a little about his background. Born and raised in Taipei, he attended National Taiwan University for college. After graduating, he chose to first fulfill his military service before doing his residency in the Department of Internal Medicine and specializing in hematology. Now, as an attending physician, Dr. Tien said that about half of his time is spent treating patients, ten percent on teaching at the medical school, and the remaining forty percent on his own research. Describing how he initially came to study medicine, he explained that back then, as a high school student, he didn’t actually have a really deep understanding of medicine. Being a doctor was a respectable job and his grades allowed him to be able to choose this field, so that was how he ended up studying medicine. However, as he began to have a better understanding of the field, he actually found he quite enjoyed it and found medicine to be very interesting. 

Regarding choosing his specialty and becoming a physician-researcher, Dr. Tien never really planned for it from early on, but it was something that became clearer over time. Medical school in Taiwan was a seven-year process back when he was in university, and in the last three years, students would intern at the hospital. During his internship rotations, he assisted in operations, helping the leading surgeon to keep the operating field clear. Surgeries often had long hours and, if things weren’t going well, the leading surgeon would sometimes be quite short-tempered with assistants. From these experiences in surgery, Dr. Tien felt that it wasn’t the area he was most interested in. His interest in molecular science and cell signaling pathways also helped to ultimately lead him to internal medicine, and specifically cancer treatment. 

Within the specialty of hematologic cancer, Dr. Tien shared that the largest challenge is the fact that only about a third of patients are able to be fully cured. The remaining patients often have to face the reality that their illness will continuously recur, which is especially a struggle for young patients, who still make up a considerable number of blood cancer patients. When treating these patients, the younger they are, the more pressure doctors feel. Dr. Tien said the hardest situation is when he has to tell a young person that there are no more treatment options available and to be prepared for the worst. In these times, he finds he is even more motivated to try gaining more clinical experience and finding ways to obtain new medicines so that he can continue treating these patients and give them some hope. Within research, Dr. Tien said the biggest challenge comes when experimental data contradicts clinical observations. In these cases, it can be difficult to find a solution that reconciles the two. 

But medicine, while not easy, isn’t only full of challenges. Dr. Tien shared that he feels especially fulfilled when patients respond quickly and well to a treatment. He said it’s particularly gratifying when you can say that their sickness is completely cured. From the standpoint of research, Dr. Tien mentioned feeling proud when a grant is approved or when data is accepted for publication. Citations are also very important within academia, so when one of his papers is cited by other researchers, he explained that he feels affirmed that what he researched is important and can have influence.

Beyond scientific knowledge, Dr. Tien emphasized that learning to work with others is a crucial skill. In both the clinical and research settings, he pointed out how important collaboration is in order to succeed. Certain people may have more expertise or more experience and in many cases, their help can truly make a difference.

“Within this field, only through collaboration and maintaining good relationships with your colleagues can you work as a team and get help from others when you need it.”

Another piece of advice that Dr. Tien gave was the importance of perseverance. When treating patients, sometimes it isn’t that there aren’t more options but that we first give up. If we instead continue to persevere and search past case reports or push to get a particular medicine, we may be able to find another treatment option that could work.

When I asked Dr. Tien what advice he would give to someone interested in pursuing medicine, he recommended exploring the different specialties and participating in lab rotations to get a better understanding of what you are interested in. Another piece of advice he gave was to make sure you keep a healthy lifestyle: exercising, resting, and spending time on what you enjoy. Medicine is a very involved career path and it’s important to find moments to take care of yourself. 

Describing how he feels about where he is now, Dr. Tien explained that he knows what direction he’s going in and, even if he isn’t moving forward very quickly, he feels certain in his path.

Thank you so much to Dr. Tien for taking the time to share about your experiences! I learned so much from our conversation and really appreciated hearing first-hand what it’s like to work as a physician. This concludes my networking interviews; I really enjoyed this entire journey and having the opportunity to meet such an amazing group of people!