Rare double valedictorian of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy

As the valedictorian with 30 points in block B, after 6 years, Hoang Huy continues to be the valedictorian, one of the few students in the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City.

Huynh Hoang Huy, 24 years old from Vinh Long , is the valedictorian of this year's graduation from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City with a score of 3.69/4 (excellent). Six years ago, Huy was also the valedictorian of the B00 group nationwide with three 10s in Math, Chemistry, and Biology.

Dr. Le Quoc Tuan, Lecturer of Physiology - Immunopathophysiology, and academic advisor of class Y2017, said that it has been a long time since Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy had a double valedictorian. Every year, the school has thousands of new graduates, but the number of people with excellent grades is very small, only counted on the fingers.

Huynh Hoang Huy, valedictorian of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy in 2023. Photo: Character provided

Having a father who is a doctor, Huy has been able to observe and be exposed to the process of medical examination and treatment since he was young. Realizing that this is a profession that can help and save people, in grade 12, with the guidance of his family, Huy decided to enroll in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City.

Coming from a specialized school in Vinh Long and being the valedictorian, Huy set a goal of winning scholarships every year before entering school. But from the first year, all of Huy's dreams of university achievements were shattered. The learning method was different from high school, the amount of knowledge and many additional books to read made Huy overwhelmed, worried that he could not keep up with the pace and would fall behind.

"Although I was mentally prepared, it was only when I started school that I realized how much knowledge there was. Sometimes I had to memorize a whole book of several hundred pages within a week," Huy said. Therefore, the male student reduced his expectations. Instead of high scores and scholarships, for Huy, graduating on time was a success.

After the initial stumbling period, Huy came up with his own study method. That is, spending a lot of time reading lectures and books, combined with doing previous years' exam questions. In particular, making friends with a group of friends to study together and share documents is a very effective way. According to Huy, to get into medical school, everyone must be good, be in the top in high school, each person has their own strengths so they can complement and push each other to progress together.

Huy acknowledged that 6 years of studying medicine had many challenges, from the shock of the environment, the amount of study in the first year, then clinical practice in the second year to countless theoretical and clinical practice exams from the fourth year.

Huy said that from the second year, students will go to clinical practice at district and county hospitals to learn and practice simple nursing skills such as intravenous injection, dressing change, and familiarization, patient contact, questioning and basic examination. In the following years, students learn more about diseases, how to ask and examine patients, diagnose and prescribe treatment.

Each stage has its own difficulties, if not persistent, students can easily give up. Even asking for patient medical records seems easy, but on the first day of clinical practice, Huy was refused by the patient.

"I didn't expect it to be so difficult. I asked several people and they all refused because they didn't trust students to examine them," Huy said. After that, the male student worked hard every morning to help the nurse take information on pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, and support patients whenever they needed it. After a few days, Huy got the patient's consent to examine him.

Huy admitted that there were times when he felt discouraged and wanted to give up because he was tired of the cycle of studying, taking exams, doing clinical practice, and being on duty at the hospital. The male student said that doing his internship at the hospital in the morning, going to school in the afternoon to study theory, and returning to the hospital at night for night duty was a daily routine. Not to mention the consecutive exams made Huy feel overwhelmed.

In addition, most medical students face peer pressure. When medical students enter their fifth year, many of their friends who study other majors have graduated and have stable jobs. When meeting friends and hearing them talk about their jobs and salaries, Huy cannot help but feel sad.

"To be able to overcome those stages, each medical student must have good health, perseverance, diligence and a studious spirit, along with understanding and encouragement from family and friends," Huy concluded.

Huy (second from left) and his close friends have been together for 6 years. Photo: Provided by the character

Huy considers six years of challenging study as a memorable and meaningful journey because he has learned how to overcome times of fatigue and discouragement. In addition to lessons from teachers, there is a teacher that every medical student respects, that is the patient. The process of asking about and examining each patient is a valuable lesson in communication, knowledge and skills.

Coming into contact with and understanding the pain of patients gave Huy the motivation to study better in the hope of curing them. It was also the process that made Huy deeply understand the responsibility and mission of a doctor when he recited the Hippocratic Oath at the graduation ceremony.

"When I put on my white coat in my second year, I felt very excited, but the moment I read the Hippocratic oath, I had a very different feeling, sacred and full of pride," the male student shared.

Dr. Le Quoc Tuan commented that Huy is a hard-working student, has the ability to self-study and adapt well. According to him, studying medicine is a difficult journey, but Huy has achieved results that very few people can do. He expects Huy to make many contributions to the industry in the future.

Aware that the road ahead is still long and full of challenges, Huy considers graduating as valedictorian just a small milestone. Huy's immediate future is the residency exam. The male student is determined to pass this exam with the goal of becoming a good internist.

"The path to practicing medicine will have many difficulties, difficult situations and even times of helplessness. I have prepared myself mentally for the challenges ahead," Huy shared.

Vnexpress.net