Doctor Spotlight: Teresa Tang
09.10.2021
Dr. Teresa Tang is board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, as well as Pain Medicine. Dr. Tang practices in Concord, Derry and Windham. Dr. Tang is a graduate of Wake Forest University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science (Biology) degree. Dr. Tang then earned her Doctor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, where she also completed her Internship in Internal Medicine. Then, Dr. Tang moved to The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, also in Baltimore, where she completed her Residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, as well as her Fellowship in Pain Medicine.
Q&A
Q: When did you first know you wanted to become a physiatrist?
A: I knew that I wanted to become a physiatrist during my third year of medical school. I was actually thinking that I would go into neurology or internal medicine, but discovered physiatry as a specialty during an interest group meeting (I had originally gone just for the food!). I loved the focus on enhancing a patient’s function and treating them as a whole.
Q: What were some challenges you faced along the way?
A: As with any training in medicine, the hours are long and
there’s just so much to learn and absorb. Luckily I had a wonderful support system
through my family and co-residents and fellows who made the journey easier.
Q: What makes your patient care approach unique?
A: It’s so important to treat patients as a whole and to
develop a treatment plan that is unique to them. A huge part of that is making
sure that they have an understanding of what is going on and to collaborate and
find treatment options that prioritize their goals.
Q: What made you decide to focus on physiatry and physical medicine?
A: I really enjoyed my interventional pain and spine rotations
during residency. The specialty is a good mix of clinical and procedural
management, and it’s so gratifying to see patients who have been in pain for
years improve and be able to go back to the activities they love.
Q: What is the most common injury you see?
A: The most common diagnoses I see are lumbar stenosis and
radiculopathies.
Q: Can you walk us through a day in the life of Dr. Tang?
A: I have two girls (a 2-year-old and 6 month old) at home,
so my life is a little crazy right now. My day starts somewhere between
4-4:30am to feed the 6 month old. If I’m lucky, she’ll go back to sleep and I
can either snooze for a little longer or get the car loaded with all the bags
for daycare. Then, I’ll drop the girls off at daycare and head to work while
drinking lots and of lots of coffee. My day at COPA is filled with seeing
patients in clinic and then procedures. After work, I pick up the girls from
daycare which sometimes involves cookie bribery to get the 2-year-old in the car and
into her car seat, followed by dinner and bedtime for the kids, and then
some time to unwind with my husband.
Q: What are you most proud of in your career to this point?
A: The field of pain medicine is mostly male dominated,
although that is changing. I’m proud that I was the only woman in my fellowship
class, and that I can encourage other women to thrive in the field.
- If I were not a doctor, I would be a librarian. I love books!
- My biggest pet peeve is people who sneeze really loudly.
- The #1 song on my all-time playlist is: This one is so hard to answer – I listen to everything! Although, I do have to say I am a Taylor Swift fan, so it would probably something from her older albums.
