Program Leadership

Julia Aquino, MD

Associate Director, Pediatric Residency Program

Welcome to the Floating Hospital for Children and thank you for your interest in our residency program.

When I think about the Floating one word comes to mind: community.  This is a place where everybody knows your name (to reference a famous TV show that took place in Boston…Cheers is great place to take tourists, best to avoid as a local!) Faculty and residents work closely in one-on-one relationships to deliver high quality patient care. Nurses, child life specialists, pharmacists and all members of the health care team greet each other in the halls on a first name basis with a smile. It is a collegial atmosphere with an emphasis on education.

Our community extends from the four walls of the Floating out into the vibrant Chinatown neighborhood that surrounds us and beyond. We pride ourselves on creating a full-service medical home for all of our patients. We have close relationships with practitioners and local hospitals throughout Massachusetts. As a pediatric hospitalist who works both at the Floating and in our affiliated community hospitals, I get to travel throughout our extended Floating community and see how our model has a positive impact on patient care and resident education. An intern will care for a local pediatrician’s patients in the hospital during community hospital rotations, then find themselves giving an update to that same provider when they are on service at the Floating. Local families smile when they learn that the resident taking care of their child also volunteers at their school providing asthma education.

Please explore the rest of our website, meet our residents and get a feel for the Floating community. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at jaquino@tuftsmedicalcenter.org.

All the best,

Julia Aquino, MD

Danielle Lam, DO                                               
Chief Resident
University of New England
College of Osteopathic Medicine
Hi, I am Danielle and I am a third year resident.  I want to be a pediatrician when I grow up...what kind of pediatrician, I am still not sure!  I have a particular interest in hospital medicine, teaching, and how children cope with chronic diseases, so I can see myself as a hospitalist.  I will be chief resident next year, so I have some more time to decide.  In my spare time, I like to run, hike, ski, rock climb, and bead.  My favorite places to hike are Baxter State Park in Maine and the Canadian Rockies!  I also really like cheesy movies and good books!

Quang-Tuyen Nguyen, MD                              
Chief Resident
University of California-San Diego
School of Medicine
I was born in Vietnam and immigrated with the boat refugees in the early 80s, grew up in Orange County, and went to college at Harvard.  I ended up going back to California for medical school at UCSD SOM, but missed Boston the whole time so I've gone back!  I loved Floating immediately because the people were all so nice.  I found nothing about the "east coast hierarchy" about the program - and that's important for someone from the West Coast.  I like pedi acute care, but what I will do exactly remains a little unclear.  In my spare time, I like to get together with friends, cook elaborate dinners, and poke around in grocery stores and odd city neighborhoods.  I'm staying on an extra year to be Chief in 2011+ and very excited!

Kyan Thornton
Residency Coordinator and Manager Education Program
I’m a transplanted Mid-Westerner - my accent always gives me away – but I LOVE Boston and all it has to offer.  I usually spend my free time running errands, but I’m always willing to discuss the things I want to do in New England.  I’m an archaeologist by training, but I’ve been doing residency stuff for a few years now.  I’m known for my notary skills and my quickness in replying to email.  I’m a superstar when it comes to domestic tasks like cooking and sewing, but an epic fail at housekeeping.  I have a 5 year old daughter and a baby boy on the way, so I’m basically always tired.  Despite my perpetual exhaustion and the fact that my office consistently looks like a cyclone hit it, I’m happy to help and answer residency questions whenever I can!