Paying tribute to the "golden generation" that has taken deep roots so that the next generation can freely reach out to the world

(Dan Tri) - After nearly 14 years of journey, Vinmec has not only grown to become the largest private healthcare system in Vietnam, but also left a deep mark thanks to a "golden generation".

They are doctors who have made difficult choices, committed themselves and persistently created professional standards, from which to train the next generation to be strong, confident and compassionate.

“In the medical profession, no one can grow up alone. Every doctor, whether a leading professor or a young person just starting out in the profession, is a link in the common journey of building a standardized, humane and advanced healthcare system,” said Prof. Dr. Do Tat Cuong, Chairman of the Clinical Advisory Board, Vinmec Healthcare System.

“The most valuable thing we receive from our teachers is not only knowledge, but also the continuation of medical ethics . It is a reminder to us that knowledge can become old, technology can change, but medical ethics, if properly transmitted, will accompany us for life”, Dr. Nguyen Tran Quang Sang - Head of the Department of Bone and Software Oncology, Vinmec Times City.

“When the “golden generations” of Vinmec have been making efforts to “take root”, that is the inner strength that helps the young generation like us carry on the path to conquer the future of value-based medicine”, resident physician Nguyen The Duy, majoring in General Surgery, VinUni University, is interning at Vinmec Times City.

On the occasion of Vietnamese Teachers' Day November 20, the story of 3 generations of Vinmec doctors is not only a tribute and honor to those who have devoted their lives to their profession, but also affirms a belief: When teachers impart medical ethics, they open up the future for an entire healthcare system.

From mother's dying words to the journey of more than half a century of "passing on the profession"

Prof. Dr. Do Tat Cuong - Chairman of the Clinical Advisory Board, 52 years of experience, nearly 14 years with Vinmec

I came to the medical profession with a sacred message from my mother before she passed away. At that time, I was just a student, too young to understand all the worries my mother had for the future of her large family.

Prof. Dr. Do Tat Cuong, Chairman of the Clinical Advisory Board, Vinmec Healthcare System (Photo: Vinmec).

But my mother saw in me something that I had not yet realized: a suitability for the medical profession - a profession of saving lives.

She told her father that among her children, “if there was one who would become a doctor to take care of the family’s health, then only Cuong would be the most suitable.” Those words became my last wish for me to enter Hanoi Medical University at the end of 1967, instead of Polytechnic University - the place I had dreamed of.

And from there, more than 50 years of dedication to the medical industry began - a journey full of hardship, sacrifice but also filled with happiness.

Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to accompany the historic milestones of Vietnamese medicine: the first kidney transplant in 1992, liver transplant in 2004 and heart transplant in 2010.

Each major surgery can last more than ten hours, the surgical team stands continuously, forgetting to eat or drink, but once the patient recovers, all fatigue disappears.

I have spent all night fighting to save the life of a worker whose chest was crushed by a generator, I have been beside patients with weak breathing, and I have been extremely happy when they were discharged from the hospital and returned to their families. Those moments are the greatest happiness, far surpassing any award or title I have been fortunate enough to receive.

Scientific research comes to me as an inevitable flow. From the invention of the emergency tracheostomy device TC-08, which won the VIFOTEC First Prize, to the organ transplant projects that were awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize, I always believe that research is not to put my name on a list, but to help colleagues do their jobs easier and safer, so that more patients can be saved in life-and-death moments.

In 2012, I chose to continue my career in public health care by entering a new environment - Vinmec. On the first day of working with Vinmec to build the foundations of key specialties, I clearly felt the desire to build an international standard healthcare model in my own country.

"I came to the medical profession with a sacred message from my mother before she passed away," Professor Cuong shared (Photo: Vinmec).

From emergency resuscitation, organ transplantation, to human resource training, I have witnessed the growth of a team of young doctors who today continue to master many difficult techniques - things that our generation could not have imagined.

More than technical achievements, what makes me most proud is seeing the next generation of doctors grow up day by day. I understand that I cannot directly perform the techniques forever, but knowledge and professional spirit can spread and live longer than the life of a doctor.

Therefore, I spend a lot of time training, teaching, sharing every experience, every mistake to avoid, every attitude to maintain when facing patients. A single word, a small gesture can make patients feel at ease but sometimes it makes them worry - something a doctor must always be careful about.

After more than half a century in the profession, I realize more and more that medicine is a beautiful profession - beautiful because of responsibility, sacrifice and humanity.

If I had to choose again, I would still choose this path, still be grateful to my mother for seeing my future correctly, and still continue with Vinmec to train more talented doctors, to continue to contribute my small part to taking care of people's health.

A doctor's growth cannot be "automated"

BSCKII Nguyen Tran Quang Sang - Head of Bone and Software Surgery Department, Vinmec Times City, 16 years of experience, 5 years with Vinmec

“When you ask the right question, you have saved half the patient.”

“You have to understand the patient as a person, not as a case.”

“A good doctor must first of all be a kind person.”

These are principles that are not found in any textbooks that are taught by teachers - those we always call the "golden generation" of Vietnamese medicine.

BSCKII Nguyen Tran Quang Sang - Head of Bone and Software Surgery Department, Vinmec Times City (Photo: Vinmec).

At Vinmec, we - the followers of our teachers - are given the opportunity to create miracles together and confidently bring Vietnamese medical achievements to major international conferences.

In a period of rapid technological development, a generation of doctors like me is supported by AI in diagnosis, robots in surgery, and big data in optimizing treatment processes... But at Vinmec, with a cultural foundation built by previous generations, we deeply understand that the maturity of a doctor cannot be "automated".

Technology can help us be “faster, more precise”, but the teachings of our teachers have given us more important things: compassion, responsibility, patience and humility before medicine.

The philosophy of “teaching profession” is therefore not only a tradition at Vinmec but also the foundation that helps us develop sustainably .

Technology is providing effective support for bone cancer surgery (Photo: Vinmec).

My specialty is bone cancer surgery - a field that has allowed me to witness the most difficult situations that seem impossible in this world. Especially when I have to witness children suffering from the pain of amputation when suffering from bone cancer.

The core principle of “building a value-based medicine - focusing on the patient” passed down from generation to generation at Vinmec has helped us find a solution to protect the children's feet.

Thanks to 3D printing technology - a collaboration between VinUni engineers and Vinmec doctors - a miracle has happened: replacing diseased bones with 3D printed artificial joints that are "tailor-made" for each child patient, even capable of "growing with the body" of the children.

16 years of working has helped me understand that only when we have a solid foundation to take root, we can grow strongly in the future. Therefore, when I came to Vinmec, I not only did it to do my job professionally but also to follow in the footsteps of my predecessors to build a humane academic foundation and pass it on to the younger generation.

Because medicine is not only about diagnosis and treatment, but also requires the ability to listen, empathize and make the best choices for patients in the most difficult circumstances.

Today, many doctors of my generation at Vinmec have become heads of surgical teams, regular speakers at international conferences, and authors of studies published in prestigious scientific journals.

But behind those achievements is a long journey, where we trembled during the first surgery, lost sleep over a decision in front of a serious patient and were reminded by the teacher behind us: "The most important thing is to understand what the patient needs."

As the younger generation matures, the circle of professional transmission continues to expand at Vinmec. We are becoming the next generation: guiding clinical practice, leading internal training programs, teaching simulation, and accompanying colleagues in difficult surgeries.

“My father's generation not only taught me how to hold a scalpel, but also taught me how to become a real doctor.”

Resident Doctor Nguyen The Duy , majoring in General Surgery, VinUni University

I still remember very clearly the first day I stepped into the Vinmec operating room as a real member of the team. It was a surgery for an elderly patient who had an accident. I was assigned to prepare the instruments, assist in suctioning fluid and maintain the surgical site.

Resident physician Nguyen The Duy, majoring in General Surgery, VinUni University (Photo: Vinmec).

These seemingly simple movements made my palms sweat. But when the operating lights turned on, the suction machine sounded, the patient's heartbeat was steady on the monitor, I clearly felt one thing: all the knowledge I had learned - anatomy, physiology, sterile procedures - was vividly appearing before my eyes.

After the surgery, my back was drenched in sweat. I walked out of the room as if I had just experienced a real maturity.

At Vinmec, we are given the opportunity to work directly with patients from day one, closely supervised but not restrained, assigned real tasks and responsibilities, and evaluated by the effectiveness of the case.

According to Dr. Duy, the previous generation creates solid steps on the path to professional maturity for young doctors (Photo: Vinmec).

But my father's generation not only taught me how to hold a scalpel, but also taught me how to become a real doctor.

These are hours-long meetings where the doctors analyze every detail of the X-ray film and the lesion, but at the same time also exchange stories beyond the professional framework about the patient's situation and the family's worries.

“Don’t just treat with a prescription, treat with your heart” - that’s what I learned from my teachers because sometimes what the patient needs is a reassuring nod, an explanation slow enough for them to understand and warm enough to reassure them.

Those small but repeated acts taught me that kindness is never secondary to medicine but is part of the profession.

“Don’t just treat with a regimen, treat with all your heart” is the lesson that Dr. Duy always remembers (Photo: Vinmec).

The spirit of compassion at Vinmec is not found in wall slogans but is present in every inter-hospital consultation to find more hope for patients, taking advantage of weekends to organize free medical examinations, and even providing financial support to poor families so they can continue treatment.

These things made me understand that: being a good doctor is important, but being a kind doctor is even more important. And I am lucky to grow up in an environment where kindness is passed down vividly through the values ​​that previous generations have been cultivating day and night.

Thanks to that, every day I step into Vinmec, I remind myself: knowledge helps heal the body, but love helps me heal people. And that is the greatest value of the medical profession.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/tri-an-the-he-vang-cam-re-sau-de-doi-ngu-ke-can-thoa-chi-vuon-ra-the-gioi-20251120070421861.htm