Scholarships for other students from the University of Sydney
2010 Other students from University of Sydney
Report by Edward Yoo
I was the fortunate dental student to be given a scholarship to learn about dentistry and what that encompasses in Ho Chi Minh City. I was placed on clinic rotations across university student clinics, paediatric clinics and the maxillofacial hospital over the course of four weeks.
On the first day Dr Quyen had shown me around the university and introduced to countless dentists and nurses, and it was a struggle to remember all their names. I was surprised that most of the younger dentists could speak English. After the second day of observing the dentists invited me to treat some patients. All the nurses were friendly towards me and we communicated using the international FDI notation for teeth and hand motions for instruments. When the clinics were empty the nurses even trusted me to scale their teeth.
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Report by Dr Truong Van Tri
Dr Truong Van Tri, second from the right
I am a neurosurgeon working in the Hue University Hospital, Hue College of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hue City, Vietnam. I would like to thank Học Mãi Foundation for giving me a chance to do a 3-month fellowship in the Centre for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery of Prince of Wales private hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.
I did a very fruitful fellowship with my supervisor, Dr Charles Teo, a very well-known neurosurgeon. During my stay in his centre, I observed a lot of operation. I often came home late, even at midnight because he operated on a lot of patients. I certainly felt tired after a busy day but I enjoyed it very much. I was eager to go to the hospital every day because a lot of useful lessons waited for me there. My supervisor is famous in the world for minimally invasive neurosurgery. This kind of surgery is very beneficial but it has not been widely applied in Vietnam.
Three months is too short to comprehend it but at least I mastered its philosophy. I will apply what I was trained here in my hospital after returning to Vietnam. I learned not only from my supervisor but also from the other fellows coming from different countries including United States, Britain, Italy, Japan in this centre. I feel lucky and proud to be a member of such an international team.