After graduating from the Military Medical University, Dr. Pham Vu Khanh was assigned to work in the unit. After a period of "real combat", around the mid-1980s of the last century, he continued studying the Traditional Medicine program at the Central Hospital of Traditional Medicine. Here, he was fortunate to be taught and work with the famous physician Thien Tich, President of the Central Traditional Medicine Association of Vietnam (1990-2000).
The next stage is the process of studying and advancing, deepening treatment, participating in teaching, researching and defending the PhD in China, then taking on the position of Director of the Department of Traditional Medicine - Ministry of Health for many years... I would like to just highlight the main features of the author's career path to see that the book was written by a physician who has experienced many professional positions, management, training, scientific research. Therefore, this book is the conclusions and assessments of the actual situation in the field of Oriental medicine in particular and Health in general, with many practical values.
“Discussion on Contemporary Vietnamese Traditional Medicine” (Medical Publishing House, May 2025) consists of 10 chapters, with 163 pages presented by topic, not going into theory but directly stating the practical shortcomings with the high responsibility of physicians and trainers managing this field.
Chapter 1 briefly discusses seemingly simple concepts that are very fundamental issues that professionals are facing. How should traditional medicine, ethnic medicine, traditional ethnic medicine, traditional medicine, traditional pharmacy, traditional medicine, traditional pharmacy... be defined? How to correctly understand Eastern medicine (Vietnam) and Western medicine. Then there are the concepts of indigenous medicine, alternative medicine, complementary medicine, health protection foods, functional protection foods... that appeared later. So in the new stage of the integration process, medicine is having to accept many new concepts and new products directly related to public health.
Chapter 2 with the titles "Southern medicine to treat Southern people" and "Eastern medicine to treat Eastern diseases", the author not only wants to emphasize the teachings of Mr. Tue Tinh but also clearly state the current treatment theory of his master, the great tree of the famous physician Thien Tich and the incorrect perceptions in combining Eastern and Western medicine.
Chapters 3, 4 and 5 respectively present the current state of training, the fading fundamental concepts in the theory of yin-yang and the five elements, and the work of inheriting traditional medicine. Indeed, the more they are presented, the more readers see the mountain of work that awaits.
The author dedicates chapter 6 to evoking the traditional spirit that few people talk about, which is Buddhism and martial arts associated with traditional medicine. General health is in a strong body and a clear mind with a good heart, so there is no need to look far.
Chapters 7, 8 and 9 are practical assessments and recommendations not only for managers and trainers in the health sector, but also a picture for colleagues to see more clearly and reflect more deeply on the path they are taking, including the issue of primary health care, the gradual standardization of traditional medicine and disease prevention...
In Chapter 10, the author mentions the content of “practical treatment”. The issue of eating has been quite specifically regulated by our ancestors, including food, how and when to eat, dishes made from medicinal herbs… which seem to be rarely mentioned today in the storm of “functional foods” that is spreading.
Closing the book, readers can clearly see that we are living in a period when we have to face no small challenges, the fading tradition is being mixed with new things creating chaos, in which the "fake" and the "barbaric" easily arise when there are no screening standards.
The author has clearly pointed out the two components of traditional medicine: academic and folk, just like in nature, they are symbiotic, in development, they go together. Folk are valuable practical experiences in the community, but academic requires elaborate training and inheritance, especially in a modern society that is moving too fast.
I believe that the book "Treatise on Contemporary Vietnamese Traditional Medicine" should be viewed with respect, especially by the management levels in the state health sector. Although the personal proposals are modest, they are solutions to restore order, creating the premise for the development of the extremely valuable traditional medical heritage.
In the conclusion of the book, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Vu Khanh wrote: “There are many issues that we either have to re-perceive or re-unify our perceptions in society, in the medical field and even in traditional medicine…; the longer we delay, the more difficult it will be to solve and we will easily make mistakes with our ancestors and future generations.” These are truly heartfelt words!
The two fundamental areas of society, education and health, are always a solid foundation for other areas to progress far and fast. We have been implementing drastic innovation and reform in recent years in the field of education. But does the field of Oriental medicine seem to have been "sleeping" for too long? Thinking about the goal of building a system of Vietnamese values in the whole society, in each field, in each family, I feel worried! Hopefully, when building value systems in any field, we must not forget Vietnamese values.
In addition, for those who "establish a medical career and practice medicine", this is a practical and useful book that should be read. We are living in a modern society but applying the knowledge of the ancients, so how should the theoretical differences between ancient and modern and Eastern and Western medicine be applied correctly? How should the concept of Yin-Yang-Five Elements regarding the internal organs be viewed under the lens of Western medicine? And then what about the method-medicine-medicine, combined when treating specifically according to the principle of combining Eastern and Western medicine? These contents have been discussed by the author in the book to give readers more room to consider.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/cuon-sach-bo-ich-cho-nguoi-lap-y-nghiep-hanh-y-su-post910050.html
![[Photo] General Secretary To Lam receives the Director of the Academy of Public Administration and National Economy under the President of the Russian Federation](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvphoto.vietnam.vn%2Fthumb%2F1200x675%2Fvietnam%2Fresource%2FIMAGE%2F2025%2F12%2F08%2F1765200203892_a1-bnd-0933-4198-jpg.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Comment (0)