Medical students and the pressures they face.

(Baonghean.vn) - Stepping into medical school, many students studying at medical universities understand that becoming a good doctor means embarking on a long and arduous journey of intense study and training.

The medical field not only requires a demanding curriculum but also demands that students possess good health to cope with the constant pressure and intensity of work.

Nguyen Thi Cam Tho, a sixth-year medical student at Vinh Medical University who won the January Star Award, said that becoming a doctor to help patients has been her childhood dream. As a child, she was constantly ill and frequently hospitalized, but thanks to the dedicated care of doctors and nurses, she was able to attend school and live a normal life. Especially after her grandmother suffered a stroke in high school, Tho became even more determined to pass the entrance exam to medical school so she could both care for her family and help many others.

Nguyen Thi Cam Tho, a sixth-year medical student at Vinh Medical University, is examining a child patient. Photo: Chu Thanh

As a final-year medical student preparing to graduate, Tho has experienced almost every emotion a medical student might have. Unlike students at other universities, from their first and second years, medical students face grueling classes and tight exam schedules, with thick textbooks as study materials, and countless late-night study sessions, only daring to sleep 2-3 hours a day.

Recounting her exam experiences, Tho said that the most stressful were probably the station-based exams, where each student would move to a station with pre-set exam questions on a table, answer them within a certain time, and then quickly move to the next station to complete the exam.

Taking advantage of her free time, Tho went to the library to review for the upcoming exam. Photo: Chu Thanh

Starting from their third year, the lives of all medical students can be summarized in a cycle of attending classes, working shifts at the hospital, and going home. Thơ shared that her daily schedule begins with clinical rotations at 7 a.m. at the hospital. After interviewing patients or assisting with injections and infusions with the nurses, Thơ and other students listen to lectures from the doctors. However, because the doctors have many patients to treat, lectures often take place around 11 or 12 noon. In the afternoon, medical students return to school to continue learning new knowledge before returning to the hospital at 7 p.m. and working until 7 a.m. the next day if they have a shift.

Even while still in university, medical students work overnight shifts alongside doctors and nurses to provide emergency care to patients. There are days when numerous emergency cases pile up, leaving medical students with no time to eat, drink, or even use the restroom. There are also times when they themselves are sick but still wear masks to the doctor's office… all of this has become a part of their daily lives, perhaps gradually becoming a unique characteristic of medical students.

On Saturdays and Sundays, medical students don't have much free time either, as most exams fall on these two days. Furthermore, medical schools don't allow students time off for exam preparation like other schools, so Tho and her fellow medical students have no choice but to study whenever and wherever they have free time.

Students from Vinh Medical University participate in emergency blood donation - Photo: My Ha

Recalling the memories of her six years of study, Tho, like all medical students, will never forget the times she participated in autopsies, the haunting smell of formaldehyde, and witnessing the moments when patients were saved or sent home by the hospital after emergency cases where they fought to snatch lives from the clutches of death...

Thơ confided that, in the beginning, she often felt helpless, confused, and afraid that she lacked the courage to face the moments and boundaries between life and death for patients. At those times, she truly understood the saying, "Doctors can cure diseases, but they cannot save the lives of patients." Later, with experience and further education, those feelings gradually disappeared.

Life as a medical student is stressful and demanding, but many students like Tho don't regret their decision to study medicine. Just seeing the smiles of patients and their families after treatment is enough motivation for future doctors, nurses, and medical assistants to continue on their path in the medical field.

Chu Thanh