Professor Nguyen Dinh Hoi - Teacher of many generations of physicians

GS Nguyễn Đình Hối - Ảnh 1. — Professor Nguyen Dinh Hoi - Photo: VAN THANH

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Hoi - former Rector of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, first Director of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital - is always mentioned with respect and gratitude. In September 2025, he was awarded the "Lifetime Achievement" award at the Asian Hospital Management Conference 2025.

Student of Professor Ton That Tung

Born in the poor countryside of Tinh Gia, Thanh Hoa , he was passionate about studying since he was a child. Because the village had no school, at the age of 6, he had to leave home to study, staying in many places. Each boarding house was a small home, where the skinny student was loved for his gentle and hard-working nature.

In 1954, when the country was still divided, the 19-year-old young man decided to "run away from home" by riding an old bicycle more than 200km to Hanoi to take the university entrance exam. Rice balls, green tea, and fitful sleep on the sidewalk were the provisions of his courageous youth journey. He was valedictorian of the Pedagogical University and was admitted to Hanoi Medical University. His mother advised him: "If you study medicine, you can help treat your family and other people's illnesses in the future."

During his student years on Hang Da Street (Hanoi), he both studied and tutored math to make ends meet. The seriousness, dedication and responsibility of the young teacher at that time made many families admire him. "Throughout my surgical and teaching career, I was fortunate to be a student of Professor Ton That Tung, the teacher of Vietnam's leading surgeons," Mr. Hoi shared.

The first time he heard Professor Tung lecture was in 1957, when Professor Tung was 45 years old - he was operating, teaching, researching, and holding a series of important responsibilities such as Deputy Minister of Health , Director of Phu Doan Hospital (now Viet Duc Hospital, Hanoi), and the organizer of the surgical profession for both civilian and military medicine. From 1959 to 1981, for 22 years, he studied and worked with Professor Tung - a period that he called "the most precious in his life".

He remembered that Mr. Tung taught that humans are a unified entity, and that one must understand disease in relation to the environment and society. In surgery, one must "operate with the mind", must think, reason and choose the appropriate surgical method - safe for the patient.

In the afternoons after the surgery, Mr. Tung made tea and explained every detail to his students. He gave stethoscopes to good students and invited those who were good at setting bones to eat pho. Along with his great teacher, he learned how to do his job with both intelligence and humanity.

GS Nguyễn Đình Hối - Ảnh 2. — Professor Nguyen Dinh Hoi (middle) shares with his students - Photo: VAN THANH

Pioneer of the "institute - school" model

In the early 1990s, when the country began to innovate, in a context where no one dared to think of a hospital model associated with a university, Professor Nguyen Dinh Hoi persistently presented to leaders at all levels the idea of establishing a hospital under the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City.

"A medical university must have its own hospital, because only with a hospital can the university develop," he said. Many people were skeptical about this model, but he was not discouraged. He knocked on the doors of no less than 10 agencies, persistently persuading them with arguments and belief in the future of the Vietnamese medical industry. Fortunately, he received the support of the then Deputy Minister of Health (later Minister of Health) - Ms. Tran Thi Trung Chien.

"Professor Nguyen Dinh Hoi is a person with innovative and creative thinking in organizing training, teaching and practice models, so that when students graduate, they will be good doctors in medical skills, understand medical theory and have good medical ethics" - Ms. Tran Thi Trung Chien commented.

The first general clinic of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City (now the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City) was established in 1994, with Mr. Hoi as Director (1994-2007). It has now become a 15-storey, 1,000-bed general hospital, a medical examination and treatment destination for millions of people.

Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Quoc Dat, Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, said: "During the years as both a lecturer and a young doctor, I had the opportunity to participate in meetings with him. He created an atmosphere like a large medical lecture hall.

There, doctors from many different specialties sit together to share knowledge about each case, helping to diagnose and treat better, and colleagues have the opportunity to learn from each other. He is humorous, delicate and altruistic. He is disciplined and gentle but still conveys a great vision to our generations."

Besides his dedication to work, Mr. Hoi has a rich, open and experienced life. During his years of teaching and working in many places, he made friends with many friends and colleagues - people who always appreciated his humorous style.

His wife, Bang Uyen Nghi, described him as a "living dictionary", intelligent, remembering the birthdays and phone numbers of each relative and student. She recounted the years in Hanoi and then moving to Ho Chi Minh City, where wherever he went, he was devoted and loved. He was happy because of that affection - a spiritual reward greater than any title.

At the age of 91, his health is not as good as before, but in Professor Hoi's eyes there is still pride when looking back at generations of students - good doctors, scientists, managers - who are following the path that he and his predecessors have opened.

A heart devoted to Vietnamese medicine

During his teaching career, he edited 10 textbooks, 5 monographs, published more than 70 scientific works, and chaired many state- and ministerial-level projects.

THUY DUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/gs-nguyen-dinh-hoi-nguoi-thay-cua-nhieu-the-he-thay-thuoc-20251106225247333.htm