Young female doctor likes to conquer difficulties

Doctor Hong Phuong - Photo: D.PHAN

I chose this place because I wanted to help less fortunate children, and partly because I wanted to "conquer" difficult diseases!

Looking back on the journey she has experienced, Hong Phuong smiled happily: "It's true that from a young age until now, I have always liked conquering difficult things! When I like something, I will definitely choose the only one, without options 2 or 3."

I learn a lot from watching good people treat each other.
Dr. Hong Phuong

Choose medicine to help people

As a student, Hong Phuong loved to "conquer" schools that were considered the most difficult to enter in Ho Chi Minh City. When she was in 5th grade, a neighbor told her that to get into 6th grade at Tran Dai Nghia Specialized School, she had to take a very difficult exam. From that day on, Hong Phuong was determined to invest time in studying and passing the exam to enter this famous and very difficult school.

After finishing secondary school at Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted, she chose to take the entrance exam to the High School for the Gifted (Ho Chi Minh City National University) - a high school with a long tradition of national and international achievements and a very high admission competition rate.

Other students can also register for a "reserve" exam when taking the exam, but that year Hong Phuong only chose the math major at the Gifted High School. Later, when taking the exam to enter the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City, she also only chose the general practitioner major.

Sharing about her determination in making single choices, Hong Phuong said "what she likes will make her passionate, and what she doesn't like will be difficult to do, or even impossible to do". Phuong believes that she is like many friends of the same age, but the only difference is in her choices.

She always chooses what she really likes, not following trends or crowds. Once she has made a choice, she makes an effort and is determined to pursue it to the end, without thinking or wanting to choose otherwise.

Although her family did not have a medical tradition, Hong Phuong's chance to enter the medical field came from a Korean movie. At that time, Phuong was only in middle school.

She was fascinated by the main character, a female doctor who silently helps HIV/AIDS patients who are forgotten by society and volunteers to go to Africa and Latin America to help the most miserable patients. Since watching the movie, Phuong has chosen the medical profession and determined to take the entrance exam to the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City.

Studying medicine, according to Hong Phuong, is really hard. Phuong quoted a saying describing the schedule of medical students: "Go to school during the day, go on duty at night, and take exams on the weekends!" That means that medical students' time is always full, their schedule is almost entirely devoted to studying and taking exams.

As a third-year student at Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, thanks to her good academic results, participation in many extracurricular activities, good foreign language skills and passion for scientific research, student Hong Phuong was selected to go to Tsukuba University in Japan to exchange and study.

In her fourth year of university, with her love for children, Hong Phuong decided to pursue a career in pediatrics. During her internship at Children's Hospital 1, Phuong became curious and inquisitive, always wanting to learn about rare, new, and even quite difficult-to-understand diseases in the Department of Neonatal 2 - Metabolism - Genetics.

Also during this internship period, Hong Phuong left a good impression on her colleagues and hospital management because of her ability to grasp and approach problems sensitively and her enthusiastic and passionate working spirit.

In 2023, after completing her internship, Hong Phuong was officially accepted to work at the department - a place that treats small newborns and especially manages and treats rare diseases, including metabolic disorders - a new and very challenging field.

With a nature that likes to conquer difficult things, Hong Phuong said she is studying carefully about these "unique" diseases. Not only in Vietnam but also in developed countries around the world, they are still continuing to study and research rare diseases. Another reason why she chose this place to work is because for rare diseases, the number of doctors treating them is currently very small and therefore the opportunity for patients to access treatment is much more difficult.

"Children are unfortunate from birth. They have no choice, so I choose to help them," said Dr. Hong Phuong.

Come early to do the best for the patient

Working hours start at 7am every day, but Dr. Hong Phuong is always present at the department at 6:30am. She has a habit of arriving at the department early to read all the medical records of the children. By the time she starts working, Dr. Hong Phuong has grasped the basic information of the patients, thereby quickly providing treatment for the children and explaining the condition thoroughly to the children's relatives.

Phuong is still single, but she loves scientific research, so after work she often spends time in the department to learn more about patients to conduct research projects. Although she has only worked at Children's Hospital 1 (HCMC) for 2 years, Hong Phuong and her colleagues have had 5 scientific articles published in the Vietnam Medical Journal.

Doctor Hong Phuong also has the habit of going to bed early and waking up at 3am to read documents and do research. "Nowadays, many young people live like night owls, "staying up late" to work, but I work effectively early in the morning so I maintain this habit," she shared.

Thanks to her spirit of always learning, researching, and devoting herself to the sick, in September 2024, Hong Phuong was sent by the leaders of Children's Hospital 1 to attend a conference on congenital metabolic disorders in Portugal. In October 2024, the doctor went to Singapore with the hospital leaders to learn about the model and experience in treating newborn diseases.

"Young, healthy, and time-poor, we need to take advantage of it to learn as much as possible and travel to as many places as possible because we don't know what we will be stuck with in the future," Hong Phuong said. The doctor's plan is to study further and get a PhD in genetics before the age of 35 to have the opportunity to learn more about rare diseases - diseases that are mostly caused by gene mutations.

Hong Phuong believes that she is lucky to have great role models in the hospital and in the department to learn from. Even though these doctors are busy, they always remember the children with rare diseases that they have treated, remember each child's interests and always take the time to visit them every time they are hospitalized.

Helps find and diagnose many complex medical cases

Young female doctor likes to 'conquer' difficulties - Photo 2.

Doctor Hong Phuong on a business trip to Portugal in September 2024 - Photo: character provided

Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Trang, deputy head of the Department of Neonatal 2 - Metabolism - Genetics, said that although Dr. Hong Phuong is young, her expertise is very solid, and she is diligent in researching and learning, helping to find and diagnose many complicated cases in the department. She is dedicated to her work, devoted to her patients, and supports and coordinates very well with her colleagues. "The dynamism of youth, working very professionally... are outstanding characteristics of the youngest doctor in this department" - Dr. Trang shared.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nu-bac-si-tre-thich-chinh-phuc-kho-khan-20250531120629674.htm