By the Book
A physician couple is helping children learn about medicine through picture books
By Bob Woods
Photography courtesy of Brandon Pham, M.D.
Drs. Pham and Nguyen have released 30 titles, with plans for more.
Betty Nguyen, M.D., and Brandon Pham, M.D., are doctors by day and children’s book authors by night. Both 29 and children of Vietnamese refugees, they were born just three weeks apart and grew up in Huntington Beach, California. Their shared journey began in high school and continued through their undergraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Though they attended different medical schools, they have reunited as resident physicians at the UM/Jackson Medical Center — Dr. Nguyen in dermatology and Dr. Pham in ophthalmology. They have been dating for over five years, engaged for two, and are planning a wedding for 2025.
She said yes! The partners in publishing will become partners in life in 2025.
During their time away from the hospital, Drs. Nguyen and Pham have co-authored a children’s books series called Medical School for Kids, which introduces children to fundamental concepts in different medical specialties. Since their first two books, Dermatology for Kids and Ophthalmology for Kids, were published in March 2022, they have released 30 titles, with plans for many more in the future.
Their journey as authors began with a shared desire to simplify complex medical knowledge for younger audiences. “We realized that much of what we learned in medical school could be broken down into bite-size chunks,” Dr. Nguyen said. “We thought, why not introduce this information to children early on?”
The couple opted to self-publish their children’s book series to retain creative control over their books’ content, formatting and cover design, as well as to expedite the release of new books. “Eventually, we hope to create a book for every medical specialty,” Dr. Pham said, “and there are more than 100!”
The creative process begins by bouncing ideas off each other for new books, then tackling the writing, illustrating and proofreading together. Although years of education and clinical work have provided them with fundamental knowledge about various medical specialties, Drs. Nguyen and Pham often invite other physicians to be co-authors of books in their respective specialties. For example, Dr. Pham asked his older sister, Dr. Michelle Palvolgyi, a physiatrist in Southern California, to co-author their Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation for Kids book.
Balancing their medical careers with their passion for writing is challenging, but they find it immensely rewarding. Both said that they never could have expected the success they have achieved with their children’s book series. “In about two years, Medical School for Kids has grown far beyond our wildest dreams, reaching tens of thousands of readers in more than 15 countries around the world,” Dr. Nguyen said. She and Dr. Pham remain committed to expanding their book series and continuing to make medical knowledge accessible to children around the world.
To learn more about the Medical School for Kids book series, click here. 
