Staff Spotlight: Lan Nguyen

UW Dermatology is fortunate to have a small, but passionate team of administrative staff members whose talent and dedication to our faculty, trainees and research teams help make our division such a great place to learn, work and teach. Check-out our Staff Spotlights to learn how our staff contributes to our academic, research, patient care and service missions.

Meet Lan Nguyen (she/her/hers), UW Dermatology's new Medical Student Program Operations Specialist! Lan is originally from Eastern Washington and officially joined our division on Sept. 11, 2023. 

What are your duties and responsibilities at UW Dermatology?

My job duties are to coordinate medical student lecture schedules, the DURM (Dermatology Underrepresented in Medicine) Scholarship, non-dermatology resident schedules (Family Medicine both at Swedish and UW, Oral Medicine, Geriatrics and Internal Medicine), observerships/shadowing coordination for all sites, and am a DIG (Derm-Interested Group) liaison.

I also administer clinical dermatology courses in the Seattle area and WWAMI region, which is a new part of this position as UW Dermatology becomes a department (but something I had previously done in my former position in the UW Department of Medicine).

What is your work and educational background?

My educational background is in International Studies — I have a BA in International Political Economy from the University of Puget Sound and an MA in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

My work background is mostly in the field of healthcare education. I started at UW as an AmeriCorps volunteer at the Dental School, and then transitioned to working as staff for several years before moving into my last job also working with medical students in the Department of Medicine.

What are your interests and hobbies outside of work?

Right now, my toddler takes up most of my outside of work time! I’m usually trying to soak up as much time as I can with my husband, son, and our dog. We love going to the zoo, going to Mariners games, reading, spending time outdoors, listening to music, and traveling. I’m also a foodie, so I love exploring different restaurants.

My goal in life is to try all of the bagels and Bún bò Huế (a spicy Vietnamese noodle soup) in the area. And as of this year, I’ve really gotten into baking. It’s been therapeutic and a nice activity to enjoy with my son. I’ve only dabbled with muffins and cookies so far, but am hoping to expand on that!

What is your favorite thing about living in Seattle?

I actually like the weather! Seattle summers are beautiful of course, but I’m also a big fan of the rain and those crisp, cool days. The food here is pretty good, too!