UMC Shadowing Day 1 (7/14) || Khanh Giao Pham Tran

I started the morning by putting on my professional attire, along with my MEMO and UMC name tags. For breakfast, I enjoyed an aromatic bowl of Pho Ga (chicken noodle soup), which gave me a much-needed energy boost for the exciting first day ahead! When our bus arrived at UMC, I was amazed by how crowded and bustling the hospital was, with every lobby chair filled with waiting patients.

The 16Gers and providers all made our way to the conference room on the 3rd floor, where the Open Heart Ceremony would take place. As we entered, I could see some of the heart surgery recipients and their families seated at the front. I noticed one boy was wearing hospital clothing, which I later learned from his mom that he had undergone surgery just a month ago and was still in recovery. It was incredibly beautiful and heartwarming to see these children healing, with the hope of soon returning to their normal lives. Their presence was a powerful reminder of MEMO’s meaningful and successful efforts.

It was inspiring to hear about the collaboration between MEMO, UMC, Cardiac Life Foundation, and VinaCapital that made these life-saving surgeries possible. When some of the recipients and their parents came on stage to share their recovery journeys and express their gratitude towards MEMO, it made me feel very emotional. One boy said thank you to MEMO for sponsoring his heart surgery, which had given him a chance to return to his normal life. He shared that he has been recovering well and that he could go to school and perform daily life activities again. Hearing the boy’s speech was truly touching.

After lunch, we split into our shadowing groups, and mine was the respiratory department. We headed to the department’s meeting room to wait for the doctor who would be guiding us. When the doctor came into the room, he was very confused about what MEMO students were doing here and wasn’t sure what he needed to do with us (haha). But some members in the group and I explained that we were hoping to tour, observe, and learn about what the doctors do in this department. The doctor eventually became more comfortable talking to us, so we started asking him a lot of questions about how medical school works in Vietnam and various types of respiratory illness that he frequently encounters in Vietnamese patients. The doctor also requested each of us to share our “why” for pursuing a career in medicine or healthcare. Afterwards, we got introduced to another doctor who is also a professor at the university. The two doctors gave us a tour around the department, and we got to observe a tracheoscopy. It was very fascinating, and having the doctors explain to us what was going on throughout the tracheoscopy was insightful. Although we only got half a day of shadowing today, I’ve gained so much valuable knowledge!

The heart recipients and their families receiving gifts!

Talking to a hospital staff about one of the patient's condition

Respiratory shadowing group with our doctor!