General practitioner - The most demanding field of study in Vietnam.

(Baonghean) - Not only do they often have top entrance exam scores, but after getting into university, future doctors have to continue to struggle in a new race that lasts for six years. During this time, medical students, especially those studying general medicine, seem to only know how to study and take exams.

Around noon, right after finishing her morning classes, Le Thi Thu Huyen (19 years old, from Nghi Thinh commune, Nghi Loc district) hurried down to the dormitory grounds of Hanoi Medical University with her friends to review their lessons. Huyen's group are second-year students in the General Medicine program (Y2, Hanoi Medical University). At this time, the rows of stone tables and chairs in the courtyard were almost full of students studying in groups. After much searching, Huyen and her friends from Nghe An province finally found an empty spot. A whole corner of the dormitory grounds looked like a lecture hall with the murmuring sounds of students reviewing their lessons.

Like Huyen, because they had to arrive early to secure a cool spot, some students who had morning classes only had time to quickly eat a bowl of instant noodles or a sandwich before rushing back down to the courtyard. Many didn't even have time to change their clothes.

Le Thi Thu Huyen, a second-year student majoring in general medicine. Photo: Tien Hung

“At 1:30 PM, we have to go back to class for the afternoon session, so the whole group has to prepare beforehand. That’s what it’s like for general medicine students; all year round it’s just studying and taking exams,” Huyen said. The sheer volume of knowledge, encompassing both theory and practice, leaves general medicine students with very little time to rest. Unlike many other fields of study, textbooks for this major are often measured in kilograms, rather than books. This is considered the most demanding field of study in Vietnam.

Carrying a heavy backpack full of textbooks, Phan Duy Phuc (19 years old, from Nghi Phu commune, Vinh City) said that even a short period of neglecting his studies could put him at risk of falling behind his classmates.

With his small stature, haggard face, and thick glasses, this male student always looked exhausted. Since entering university, Phuc has spent all his time studying. Phuc is a former student of Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted (Vinh City). For many years, he achieved national academic excellence and was admitted to this major with very high scores. However, Phuc says that no longer means anything since he entered university. "Most of the students here are top-ranking and second-ranking students from high school. Everyone is so good; compared to them, I'm nothing," Phuc said.

A group of students from Nghe An province take advantage of their lunch break to study in the dormitory grounds. Photo: Tien Hung

Similar to the scene below, the library of Hanoi Medical University, spanning hundreds of square meters, is always bustling with students studying. The library is conveniently located on the third floor of the university dormitory for students' access. The majority of the students are general practitioners. "On days leading up to exams, students have to wake up early and queue for hours to get into the library. General practitioners are very studious; they seem to study all day," said Ms. Phi Thi Le Hang, Deputy Head of the Library Department at Hanoi Medical University.

“The rooms are too cramped, and there’s no conducive learning environment. We go to the library because it has enough resources and is quieter, allowing us to study better,” said Nguyen Thi Hoang Linh (23 years old, from Dien Chau, Nghe An). Hoang Linh is currently a fourth-year medical student. Linh recounts that she has to be at the hospital at 7 am for clinical classes. At noon, she rests a little before continuing to the lecture hall for theoretical classes. In the evening, students have to go to the hospital for on-call duty. “From the second semester of our third year, we have to study clinical subjects, then pathology… so it’s very stressful. The knowledge is overwhelming,” Linh said, adding that she has witnessed many students become depressed due to the pressure of studying. Some others even had to drop out and switch to other majors because they couldn’t keep up.

Throughout their six years of studying general medicine, students have to attend classes both in the morning and afternoon. In their final years, they even have to dedicate evenings to working at the hospital. According to Vi Le Han (20 years old, from Que Phong district), the most "terrible" time is the first year. "Because the learning method is different from high school, the amount of knowledge is much greater. Meanwhile, new students are still feeling elated because they've just been accepted into a popular major, so they are very shocked," Le Han explains. During this time, students study basic subjects like chemistry, physics, biology, and anatomy. However, according to Le Han, the knowledge required here is about five times greater than in high school.

Among the subjects in the first year, the most difficult was still human anatomy. In this course, students had to come into direct contact with human corpses. “Normally, during class, the lecturer would cover the face of the corpse with a cloth. But once, a student accidentally dropped the cloth, causing many others to see the deceased's face, which haunted them for a long time,” Han recounted, adding that after each encounter with a corpse, many students went home and didn't dare eat meat for weeks. There were also cases where students fainted immediately after seeing a corpse.

Vi Le Han is currently the volunteer team leader of the Nghe An Student Association at Hanoi Medical University. Currently, there are approximately 600 students from Nghe An studying there, the majority of whom are pursuing general medicine degrees.

To help each other with their studies, at the beginning of each academic year, this alumni association organizes a meeting to guide new students in familiarizing themselves with the learning environment. In addition, the association takes advantage of the students' limited free time to organize volunteer work and cultural and sports activities. "Without these social activities, students would be stressed and unable to study. We have to participate to be more active and better able to handle pressure, thus avoiding depression from studying too much," said Le Han.

According to Le Han, to succeed in this field of study, one must first reduce their self-confidence. “New students who have just been admitted are very proud. You have to put that aside, because this school is full of top students from other universities. The orientation program we organized at the beginning of the year was specifically to address this issue with the new students. In addition, you must set goals for each year. For example, my goal for the first two years is to only study core subjects and participate in social activities to improve myself. Having a yearly goal allows you to set daily goals. Because the pace of learning here is very fast, if you only think about what to do on a given day, the day will be over and you won't be able to keep up,” added Vi Le Han.

General medicine is considered the most demanding field of study in Vietnam. Photo: Tien Hung

Similar to Hanoi Medical University, general medicine students at Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy also have to struggle for six years to fulfill their dream of becoming doctors. These are two of the leading general medicine training universities in Vietnam today. "The biggest difficulty for us is the pressure. The pressure comes first from the knowledge, then from the teachers, from the expectations of our families, and from public opinion," said Nguyen Tuan Anh (24 years old), a final-year student at Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

Tuan Anh recounted that the most difficult time was during his final years of study, when many patients refused to examine students at the hospital: "They didn't trust us, while to study well, we needed to be examined in person. It was very difficult."

Professor Vo Tam, Vice Rector of Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy, said that there are four medical training programs: general medicine, dentistry, traditional medicine, and preventive medicine. However, general medicine remains the most popular and demanding field of study. “This field of study not only requires intelligence (because the entrance requirements are very high), but also diligence. General education knowledge is only a foundation here.”

General practitioners graduating from university can work in many different departments, so they require a vast amount of knowledge, from theory to practice and professional ethics. Not only in Vietnam, but also worldwide, it is considered one of the most demanding fields of study. "To pursue this field, if you don't have passion, you won't be able to keep up," Mr. Tam said, adding that for general practitioners, about 10% of graduates drop out each year because they can't handle the pressure and can't keep up with the curriculum.

Tien Hung