"I chose to return to Nhon Mai commune because this is my hometown. Thinking about the lack of doctors in my commune, the sick people having to travel far to find a place to treat them, so I proactively asked to return here," said doctor Va Ba Tung about the reason he asked to return to the village to strengthen the Nhon Mai Commune Health Station (Tuong Duong).
Go far to return
In Nhon Mai commune, Doctor Va Ba Tung is no longer a strange name to the people here. He became the pride of the Mong people in this land when he was one of the first people in the village to pass the exam and graduate from a medical university.
Although he has only been working at Nhon Mai Commune Health Station since April 2022 after 0 doctors here had to take time off work to treat illnesses, Dr. Tung has quickly become a support for the community here.
Born and raised in Nhon Mai commune, Doctor Va Ba Tung has gone through a long and arduous journey to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. After graduating from secondary school, at the end of 2004, he packed his bags and left his hometown to study at Viet Bac High School in Thai Nguyen. This was probably the first step in Va Ba Tung's journey to conquer his dream.
Doctor Va Ba Tung works at Nhon Mai Commune Health Station. Photo: Tien Dong
After graduating from high school in 2008, Va Ba Tung successfully passed the entrance exam to Hue University of Medicine and studied there until 2014. After graduating, he was invited by many places, but his heart always turned to his homeland. He decided to refuse the opportunity to work in the Central provinces such as Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Binh to return to serve the people in his hometown.
Returning to his hometown in 2015, Dr. Tung was accepted to work at the Examination Department, Tuong Duong District General Hospital (the predecessor of today's Tuong Duong District Medical Center). At that time, Tuong Duong District was still seriously lacking doctors, so he was mobilized to reinforce from Xieng My, Tam Hop, Tam Dinh communes and then returned to the Medical Center.
Nhon Mai is a remote commune of Tuong Duong district, more than 140km from the district center. Photo: Tien Dong
In April 2022, when a doctor at Nhon Mai Health Station fell ill and had to take time off work, Va Ba Tung did not hesitate to propose to the board of directors to be transferred to Nhon Mai Commune Health Station until a new doctor could be recruited.
Perhaps there is no need to explain the reason for volunteering to go to Nhon Mai commune to reinforce. Because for doctor Va Ba Tung, this is the place where he was born and raised. Here are also his parents, wife, children and relatives, who witnessed his footsteps to pursue his dream exactly 20 years ago.
Doctor Tung said that the biggest difficulty for Nhon Mai commune is the remoteness of the roads. It takes more than 140 km to go from Nhon Mai commune to the center of Tuong Duong district, causing many difficulties in transferring seriously ill patients to higher-level hospitals. Moreover, Nhon Mai commune has a large area, with 12 hamlets, the farthest hamlet is Huoi Co, 20 km from the commune center, where people's living conditions are still difficult.
Doctor Va Ba Tung examines a child patient in Nhon Mai commune. Photo: Tien Dong
Against the..."forest ghost"
Regarding reinforcement in Nhon Mai commune, although being close to his family, Dr. Tung encountered many difficulties, especially in emergency work and treatment of seriously ill patients. The commune health station lacked many basic medical equipment such as ultrasound machines, testing machines, X-ray machines and especially fetal heart rate monitors. At times like these, Dr. Tung had to make use of all his experience and knowledge to come up with the best treatment plan, saving the patient's life in the difficult conditions.
Nhon Mai commune has four ethnic groups living together: Mong, Thai, Kinh, and Kho Mu. The Kinh language skills of the people are very limited, and some people do not even know how to speak Kinh. Therefore, many people who come to see a doctor do not provide all the symptoms of their illness, leading to inaccurate diagnoses. "Therefore, it will be very dangerous to the patient's life if I misdiagnose the disease. There is no other way, I have to learn the language of the people," Dr. Tung shared.
Doctor Va Ba Tung shares about his work in Nhon Mai commune after returning here to strengthen his position. Photo: Tien Dong
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I chose to return to my hometown because I wanted to help the people here. Despite the difficulties in terms of facilities and geography, seeing the people healthy every day, I feel happy...
Doctor and Ba Tung
During nearly 10 years of working, having been assigned to many localities, in addition to his mother tongue and the common language - Kinh, Dr. Tung can speak Thai and Khmu fluently.
“Knowing the local language can help me in many ways, from understanding disease symptoms, making accurate diagnoses, to being able to promote and remind people to understand how to prevent and treat common seasonal diseases...”, Dr. Tung said excitedly.
Our conversation was often interrupted by people coming in and out to see us. Although it was hard work, for Dr. Tung, people trusted and came to him, which was a happy thing.
The joy of the people of Nhon Mai commune. Photo: Dinh Tuan
He recalled the case of Va Ba La - an 8th grade student in Huoi Co village. In September 2024, while in class, the child suddenly had a severe stomachache. After examining him, Dr. Tung discovered that the child had acute appendicitis. After first aid, he and his family decided to urgently transfer the child to Tay Bac General Hospital in Thai Hoa town. Although the distance was far, thanks to his brother's timely and decisive action, the child was not in any danger.
In Nhon Mai commune, according to Dr. Tung, the difficulties do not only come from the lack of facilities and difficult travel conditions, but what he fears most is the shortcomings in people's awareness. People in the highlands still have many backward ideas, especially in mental health issues.
He said that here, women often face a lot of pressure in life, sometimes just because of a small thing they think of committing suicide, going into the forest to eat poison ivy. Poison ivy is like a "forest ghost", becoming an obsession for a long time. But since coming here, with medical knowledge, timely propaganda and advocacy, he has won back life from the hands of "forest ghosts" in many cases.
Our conversation was often interrupted by patients coming to see us. Photo: Tien Dong
Recently, the case of Ms. VYC in Nhon Mai village is an example. At around 5:00 p.m. one day in April 2024, when he had just finished his medical shift and was about to go home, his family rushed to pick up Ms. VYC. Through questioning, it was learned that because of a moment of anger with her husband, Ms. C. ran into the forest to eat poison leaves. Fortunately, her family discovered her in time and took her to the medical station. Immediately, Dr. Tung and his colleagues induced vomiting, washed her stomach, and administered an IV to detoxify. Ms. VYC was then out of danger and recovered.
"Every emergency is very important, and in this case, saving lives is not only about physical treatment but also about lifting their spirits, so that they realize that life is very precious and worth cherishing," said Dr. Tung.
Specialist Doctor 1 Tran Van Cong - Deputy Director of Tuong Duong District Medical Center could not hide his respect when talking about Va Ba Tung, the doctor who volunteered to work in Nhon Mai commune - one of the most difficult communes in the district. He said: "Currently, Doctor Tung is the only reinforced doctor at the commune-level medical facility in the entire Tuong Duong district. The entire district has 17 communes and towns, but only Nhon Mai commune does not have a specialist doctor. Doctor Tung's volunteering to work here has solved the problem of doctor shortage in this locality.
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Although the facilities of Nhon Mai Commune Health Station are still very poor, without modern equipment like the upper level hospitals. However, we also determined that we will always be ready to support the medical team here through online consultation for serious cases, difficult cases to promptly provide the most accurate and effective treatment plan.
Specialist Doctor 1 Tran Van Cong - Deputy Director of Tuong Duong District Medical Center
Leaving Nhon Mai commune, saying goodbye to the young doctor Va Ba Tung, deep in his eyes we understood that the work he was doing was not about achievements or fame, but about the happy smiles of the patients who were saved, and the trust and respect of the people for him.
Looking at the white blouse gradually disappearing into the distance, we suddenly thought that the road ahead for him would still be bumpy, but his enthusiasm and dedication to his profession had sown so much faith, hope and health for the people here.
For Dr. Tung, Nhon Mai commune is not only his hometown, but also the place where he chose to dedicate himself, to live his life to the noble ideals of a physician. His presence here is a clear testament to the power of compassion and boundless love for his profession and homeland.
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