Families meet, fall in love, grow up together... in the hospital

"The first time I went to Viet Duc Friendship Hospital was New Year's Eve when I was about to turn 7, early 1973. At that time, the US had just announced that it would stop bombing the North, and my father was on duty on New Year's Eve. I watched a black and white TV in the hospital hall, along with another friend who was the son of the doctor on duty with my father. He now works at Hanoi Medical University Hospital."

Mr. Duong Duc Hung, director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, shares his destiny with the medical profession - a profession that he calls "a family profession".

Dr. Hung's family is one of many "medical families". His father - the late Dr. Duong Duc Binh - was a lecturer at Hanoi Medical University and a doctor at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, and later transferred to Saint Paul Hospital (Hanoi).

In his generation, in addition to Dr. Duong Duc Hung, his two younger sisters, Dr. Hung's wife and a brother-in-law are all doctors. What is special is that all five of these doctors graduated from residency - the most "difficult" and rigorous training system in the medical industry.

Dr. Duong Duc Hung, Director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

"I was born in the dormitory of the Institute of Anatomy. Since I was a child, I have been in contact with my father's friends and heard many words that were strange to children such as blood, anatomy, injection, infusion, surgery, and understood the medical profession through the surgeries of my father and friends. When I was in high school, I thought I would become a doctor and a surgeon.

I studied medicine and passed my residency. I still remember clearly the day I received the school's referral letter to Viet Duc Friendship Hospital for my residency - at that time, the requirement was to stay, study and work at the hospital 24/7.

From the boy who followed his father to the hospital, I was moved because this time I came here in a different role - an independent doctor" - Dr. Hung said.

After the eldest brother Duong Duc Hung, the second daughter of the family, who was a good student, also entered Hanoi Medical University as a matter of course.

Then the youngest daughter also entered medical school because she inherited all of her brother and sister's exam preparation materials. If she had any questions during the review process, her brother and sister would guide her.

Dr. Duong Duc Hung is examining a patient (photo taken at Bach Mai Hospital when Mr. Hung was a cardiologist at Bach Mai Hospital, later Mr. Hung was the deputy director and chairman of the Board of Management of Bach Mai Hospital) - Photo: PHUONG HONG

Dr. Hung said that now all three brothers have their own families. Every time they meet, even though they remind each other from the beginning "let's not talk about medicine today", the conversation always turns to the medical profession, the hospital, the difficult cases and the hard days of the past in medical school.

Each person has a different field. Doctor Hung and his wife work in surgery, his sister does endoscopy, his brother-in-law does obstetrics..., but through their professional stories, they help each other a lot.

At Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, there are many families with 2-3 generations working here or in the same medical profession. Doctor Hung said that when talking about Viet Duc Hospital and the medical profession, we cannot forget the role of the late Professor Ton That Tung and his family.

Dr. Duong Duc Hung, director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, presented flowers to Professor James Miser, former president and CEO of City of Hope Hospital (USA) during Professor James's recent working trip to Hanoi - Photo: Provided by Viet Duc Hospital

Professor Tung was once the director of Viet Duc Hospital, his wife (Mrs. Vi Nguyet Ho) was a nurse, Professor Tung's son, the late Associate Professor Ton That Bach, was also the director of Viet Duc and principal of Hanoi Medical University; Mr. Bach's wife worked in the hematology department of Viet Duc Hospital.

Currently, Professor Tung's grandson has also become a doctor in the hospital's digestive surgery department. Three generations of the Professor's family have been involved in the medical profession and the hospital.

"My son is in high school and recently he said he wants to take the medical exam. My nephew who is in middle school also said he will pursue medicine. I follow them to see if their personalities are suitable for the medical profession or not, I don't tell them good prospects but talk about the difficulties of this profession but they still want to take the medical exam.

"The children's future is decided by them, but in our hearts we feel that it is also happiness. Every profession needs a teacher, and it is even better when that teacher is your father, your brother, or a family tradition" - Dr. Hung said.

In the field of obstetrics, perhaps few people do not know the family of Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong - former director of Tu Du Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City. Dr. Phuong has a daughter, Dr. Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan (currently the head of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City) and a son-in-law, Dr. Ho Manh Tuong (My Duc Hospital).

Dr. Lan and Dr. Tuong were the first people in Vietnam to study and apply assisted reproductive techniques for infertile families more than 25 years ago. To date, they are both "experts" in this field.

From right to left: Dr. Ho Manh Tuong, Dr. Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan and colleagues

"My wife said that when she took the university entrance exam, she felt that there was nothing else to choose but medical school, other than the environment she had been familiar with since childhood. When my daughter took the university entrance exam, she also said that she would only take the medical exam, this year she is in her 6th year of medical school" - Dr. Tuong shared.

After the second generation of doctors, which is her daughter and son-in-law, Doctor Phuong is preparing to welcome the third generation of doctors in the family when this summer, Ho Ngoc Lan Nhi - the eldest daughter of Doctor Lan - Tuong, graduates from medical school and takes over the family business.

The family of doctors, from right to left: Ho Manh Tuong, doctor Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan, doctor Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong and grandchild (child of doctor Lan and doctor Tuong) attended the scientific conference and continuing education - Photo: Provided by the family

It can be said that Lan Nhi grew up in the hospital, because since she was little she went to the hospital every day.

"At that time, there was no one to look after the house, so in the morning when my grandmother and parents went to work, I also went to the hospital with them. From then on, I witnessed the busy atmosphere of the hospital every day," said the final year medical student.

That's why, since she was little, whenever anyone asked her what she wanted to do when she grew up, Lan Nhi said she wanted to be a doctor. It wasn't a dream that came suddenly, but it was something that had been ingrained in her subconscious, urging her to study well in group B in high school and take the medical entrance exam, and now she's preparing to graduate from university and take the residency exam.

"This industry is really hard. Since I was little, I've witnessed my parents and grandmother go to the hospital at night when a woman gives birth or has a cesarean section, because who can decide on a certain time to give birth?

Or last Tet, when the time came for embryo transfer and egg retrieval, the parents had to go to the hospital because to do the best for them, the time had to be right.

From what my parents and grandmother have done and experienced, I understand that medicine is also an important profession that brings joy and happiness to others, and this profession also requires dedication and sacrifice" - Lan Nhi said.

In medical families like Nhi's, the children are not protected but have to be independent from a very young age. Ngoc Phuong's grandmother has a rule that the family eats dinner together, but dinner is always a "consultation session" when the parents will tell what case is happening today, what treatment is being done, what method is being used...

Grandmother (Doctor Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong - middle), mother (Doctor Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan - right) and daughter after a surgery - Photo: Family provided

"Even when I eat, I think about the patient, so now that I'm studying medicine, I'll talk about what case is happening in the department today and how the treatment went. Other families will take their children out on the weekend, but my family will go out in the hospital on the weekend, but for me, that's lucky because from there I learned more about the profession and knew I was suited for it.

Since then, I have had the dream of following the obstetrics and gynecology career of my grandmother and parents, and I am trying every day to achieve that dream" - Lan Nhi said resolutely.

The image of a doctor that remains in everyone's eyes is the white coat after surgery, when taking care of patients with kind instructions, but in fact, the medical profession is a profession that requires a lot of personality.

Dr. Tuong and Dr. Lan (5th and 6th from right) work with colleagues from Australia - Photo: Family provided

Doctor Tuong said that few professions require continuous learning and as much study as medicine. After graduating, one still has to participate in continuous training courses. If one does not study, one cannot continue working, not to mention having to work at high intensity, on night shifts...

"During the years your grandmother was the director of Tu Du Hospital, she was at the hospital every New Year's Eve. Some years her children also came with her. Therefore, families with many members taking over the profession probably all started with a passion for the profession," said Dr. Tuong.

Doctor Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan during treatment

As for Dr. Hung, he shared that when he started his career as a surgeon, his father said that a surgeon needs a "cool head" so that when performing an operation, the surgeon will not be impulsive or influenced by other emotions; a "hot heart" so that the desire to explore will never be quenched; and a "velvet hand" because a surgeon with clumsy hands will never be able to perform an effective surgery.

"The medical profession has its own personality traits. Surgeons are all people with decisive and strong personalities because during surgery, surgeons must decisively decide on the treatment method for the patient.

Dr. Duong Duc Hung is examining a patient (photo taken when Dr. Hung was working at Bach Mai Hospital) - Photo: PHUONG HONG

The study time is long, if you want to work independently, it takes 9-10 years of training. I told my son that he can do anything, but if he does it, he must love the job and be professional. He understood that before starting his medical journey" - Dr. Hung said about his son.

Just like him more than 50 years ago when he first entered the hospital, in the boy's eyes were not the clear images of surgeries like his son now, but the sacred New Year's Eve in the hospital, the indescribable emotions that have followed him throughout the past and upcoming years.

Medical families have been formed like that, like a stream quietly anchored in the lives of doctors and their children, because happiness also brings beautiful moments to life, and the medical profession, every moment of fighting for the life of a patient is one of those moments.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhung-gia-dinh-gap-nhau-yeu-nhau-lon-len-cung-nhau-trong-benh-vien-2024022218460979.htm