As UTMB grows its services across multiple service lines and locations, patients in southern Brazoria County are among the latest to benefit from this growth – with the addition of a new general surgeon serving the Angleton-Lake Jackson area.
Virginia Tran, MD, joined UTMB earlier this year and is eager to help meet patient needs in the area. Her experience and capabilities encompass the full spectrum of general surgery procedures, including laparoscopic procedures.
“My philosophy in my practice has always been serving my community,” she says. “They bring me what they need, and I hope I can help.”
Originally from Kansas, Dr. Tran came to Texas following her undergraduate studies, serving two years in AmeriCorps VISTA, a national full-time volunteer service program working in communities of need.
She earned her medical degree at Texas A&M University College of Medicine, then completed her general surgery internship at Baylor College of Medicine and her residency at Texas Tech Health Science Center.
Immediately prior to joining UTMB, she served a rural community south of Fort Worth for a year. In that setting, she was able to draw on the breadth of her knowledge to meet a wide variety of patient needs. She also found gratification in helping patients
receive the care they needed close to home.
“It can be hard on patients when they have to travel. For some communities, like the elderly, they really can't make that travel and to give them access to care locally, I think that is very important,” she says.
Dr. Tran emphasizes the importance of understanding what each patient needs and finding realistic ways to help them. As a medical student spending time in Africa, she observed that patients were often given unrealistic treatment plans by visiting physicians.
Her experience as a physician in rural areas has only reinforced the idea that good health care means meeting patients where they are.
She is enthused about her work in Angleton not only because of the community setting for her clinical practice, but also because being at UTMB puts her back into an academic medical center where education is a focus.
“I'm really excited because it's still an academic setting, and I get to work with residents,” she adds. “Something that I always wanted was to come back and work with residents and med students and learners.”
Dr. Tran notes that growing up, she always wanted to be a teacher. This opportunity brings together that lifelong interest with her passion for helping patients with their health care needs.
“I was given so many opportunities, and I want to help other people navigate the system and learn and grow,” she says.
View Dr. Tran’s research profile here
View Dr. Tran’s patient care profile here