My amazing Hoc Mai experience
Nadia HJIJ
Having been accepted to a four week nursing scholarship in Vietnam, I was given the opportunity to
be placed at Vietnam’s biggest hospital called Bach Mai Hospital. I was thrilled to be accepted and
filled with anticipation, and after a long but swift flight to Vietnam I found myself a great place to stay
and was more than ready to observe and learn about patient care in a country with a different
language and different culture.
On a typical day most mornings were spent in the emergency department. None of the nurses were
able to communicate in English and my mentor Dr Tue kindly made sure that my fellow students and I
always had an opportunity to learn something new, ensuring that we could understand through his
own English speaking ability. I was able to observe the nurses whilst they were working and I also had
the privilege of gaining a better understanding of patient’s pathologies and prognosis. I cannot stress
enough how kind all the doctors were to the students, they were exhilarated to have us there and
were always going out of there way to make sure we had a tutor with us. Most patients who
presented in the emergency department were cardiac related, cirrhosis or/and hepatitis B which are
unfortunately quite a big problem in Vietnam.
During the first few weeks we were also given the opportunity to spend some afternoons in the
‘Tropical Disease’ part of the hospital, this is quite a large facility as there are a large number of
illnesses related to tropical disease. The doctors took us around this facility individually and taught us
about many patients’ cases so that we could have a better understanding of each different disease,
what the patients presenting symptoms were, management and prognosis. I was privileged to learn a
great deal about pathologies, nursing care and medical treatment on a medical condition, diseases
such as Hepatitis B, Tetanus, Tuberculosis, Dengue Fever, HIV and Meningitis. Since commencing my
Nursing Master Degree more than two years ago this was the first time I had been able to learn about
these types of medical conditions and I found it to be very interesting and rewarding.
In my final week at Bach Mai Hospital, I was given the very fortunate opportunity of being introduced
to the main Anesthetist from the surgery department. I was invited to spend some valuable time in
the operating rooms and was able to observe a number of different surgeries being performed. In
addition to this several of the surgeons were able to speak French (with little English skills), and as
French is my first language this was very beneficial in my training and in how we communicated with
each other. Surgeons were able to translate to me in French the steps they were taking during the
surgical procedures. There were usually about 6 – 7 surgeries occurring at any one time, and I was
given the opportunity to observe a number of obstetrics surgeries, open heart surgery, different sorts
of removal of cancer surgeries and the one that stood out for me the most was observing a Caesarian,
I found this one the most exciting of all.
During my first day of training what appeared to me as chaos was actually a very well organized
structured and efficient hospital, and having an Emergency ICU department attached to the
Emergency department, helped me realise how many patients recovered much quicker from such a
bad condition to a quicker recovery and a swifter discharge from hospital.
During this time Bach Mai Hospital allowed me to observe how health professionals, patients and
their families who are extremely involved in the nursing patient care, operate within a system with
limited resources. The program gave me some valuable insights on how to approach a number of
different health issues and how to care for people not only in developing countries but also in
Australia. Having had this opportunity to observe Doctors and Nurses provide healthcare through
problem solving and ‘making do’ in Vietnam, where access to resources can be very limited, has
undoubtedly provided me with the skills to initiate problem solving and meet the challenges of
working in these sorts of communities. This has afforded me a further expansion of my patient care
knowledge, refinement of my time and people management skills, and awareness of the different
types of patient issues and care in a less developed country than Australia.
What I enjoyed the most was observing how the nurses involve and teach patients families to provide
care to their loved ones and how to care with limited resources. The nursing workload is much higher
in Vietnam than I would compare to Australia, and each nurse has a very high patient – nurse ratio. A
nursing position in Australia is mainly about assessing patients and performing after a doctor’s
instructions and assisting doctors in performing procedures, and in Vietnam it is largely about the
same sort of practices however educating families on how to care for their loved ones plays a vital
role in the recovery of all patients also.
Having had this opportunity I have gained a better understanding of the theories behind
communicating across cultures in health care and how social cultural factors shape patients
understanding and presentation of their condition. This has definitely had an impact on my future
nursing abilities and how I can now better relate to patient’s differences. What I gained from this
experience the most was how to overcome the challenges of a language barrier and still be able to
give the best possible patient care in any setting. Furthermore, I have certainly developed a better
understanding of the Vietnamese community and their culture.
On a personal note I am still astounded about the extreme kindness of all the doctors who were going
out of their way to make sure we were all ok and having a fantastic learning experience. Some of my
mentors have now become my friends and as much as I gave them my appreciation for this
experience I could not thank them enough for their precious time, care and support. This will be one
of my best experiences in my nursing training/career, and now that I am a qualified Nurse I am very
much looking forward to progressing towards obtaining my Masters in International Health/Public
Health with the University of Sydney. I have always had a passion about Public Health and this
experience at the Hoc Mai Hospital has only confirmed how much I wish to pursue a career in health
and work in developing countries.
I would like to thank the Hoc Mai Foundation and Rhonda Glasson for giving me this very rewarding
and invigorating opportunity and I look very forward to working with my fellow students to organize
our Hoc Mai Fundraising event, as this is what I believe is an amazing project and a brilliant way of
making a difference in the health care system in Vietnam. I hope that I am able to volunteer my
ongoing support and time towards the Foundation.
Nadia Hjij
Medical Student Ji Li, Dr Chinh (Hoc Mai 2009) & Nadia Hjij