PROJECT TIEN LEN IN HANOI!

From 22 to 28 June 2025, a team of LKC students from Project Tien Len embarked on our overseas exchange to Hanoi and Thanh Hoa, Vietnam. Partnering with Hanoi Medical University (HMU) and Thanh Hoa General Hospital, our team was involved in multiple enthralling clinical attachments, hospital tours, health screenings, cultural exchanges, and academic seminars. These experiences were invaluable in terms of deepening our appreciation of Vietnam’s healthcare system while building meaningful connections with local doctors and medical students.

Family Medicine in Vietnam

Our first academic programme was conducted at the Hanoi Medical University (HMU) Main Campus, where we attended a briefing by HMU doctors on Vietnam’s Family Medicine system. Recognised as an official specialty only in 2001, Family Medicine remains relatively underdeveloped, with few practitioners and a degree of patient distrust.

An entertaining interdisciplinary discussion soon followed, where we belatedly shared perspectives on Singapore’s healthcare financing and training pathways, which sparked fruitful discussion about the similarities and differences between our systems. Afterwards, the doctor and the students eagerly brought us around on a campus tour, giving us a glimpse into HMU’s long history of training Vietnam’s doctors.

Over lunch, we met members of the HMU English Club who warmly welcomed us and showed us around. Amidst the casual conversations about school life and culture, their experiences in medical school revealed interesting perspectives on how their medical education is structured and established, and the differences we rarely get to observe.

In the afternoon, we visited Viet Duc Hospital, where we were attached to the Nephrology Dialysis Department. Guided by Dr Hoang Thi Diem, we toured the haemodialysis wards and conducted patient surveys (KDQoL-36) while also learning about the leading causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Vietnam, such as glomerulonephritis, polycystic kidney disease, and hypertension.

Our group picture outside Viet Duc Hospital!

Clinical Attachments at Viet Duc Hospital and Hoang Mai Campus

Our experience in Hanoi would not be complete without the extensive clinical attachments we had throughout the trip. Our first attachments saw us make grand rounds under Prof An, which included interesting case discussions and CT scan reviews of road traffic accident patients in the wards, for instance. The friendly company of her colleagues, like Dr Hoang, reinforced our learning experience in the haemodialysis wards as her expertise, while we observed a range of cases, such as Parkinson’s disease complicated by fractures and hepatocellular carcinoma, gave us a taste of clinical urgency and insight we’ve yet to experience till now.

Our days also always end with a succinct but engaging debrief, where we exchange reflections on patient management and barriers to care—from medication costs to fragmented interdepartmental communication—we draw connections between our observations and the systemic challenges that local healthcare systems experience daily.

Our experience at HMU’s Hoang Mai Campus was also equally insightful, as we saw ourselves joining the Nephro-Urology Department for ward rounds. The hospital, built in 2021 initially as a COVID-19 facility, now houses expanding services such as kidney biopsies. Under the care of a small but close-knit medical team, doctors generously explained patient cases to us, providing insight into diagnostic challenges, especially given the absence of centralised electronic records.

Interesting clinical cases through our inpatient rotations in Viet Duc!

Research and Surveying

Throughout the various hospitals and campuses we stepped foot in, our team worked towards deepening our understanding of the patients’ quality of life and their general understanding of kidney disease through extensive surveying. To achieve these goals, we administered the KDQOL survey as well as crafted a unique questionnaire for our hemodialysis patients and the general population.

At Viet Duc Hospital, while some shadowed outpatient consultations and observed the fast-paced review system involving nurses and physicians, most of our team were tasked with administering our general population surveys to the public. Despite the lack of translators and beyond the data that we managed to collect, this journey toward expanding our knowledge horizons also underlined the structural differences between Singapore and Vietnam in patient care and communication.

At Thanh Hoa, we persisted in our efforts of surveying and data collection by distributing patient surveys alongside HMU Thanh Hoa students. Beyond appreciating the difference in internal ward layouts and standard of care, our data collection efforts were also aimed at analysing the differences in healthcare understanding and patient QOL on a provincial level compared to that of the capital.

Collecting responses for our KDQOL survey

Rotations with Thanh Hoa General Hospital

At Thanh Hoa, we were warmly welcomed by Dr Lang Dang and the hospital director, where discussions centered around comparing the epidemiology and management of CKD in Singapore and Vietnam, particularly surrounding provincial healthcare systems, sparking engaging dialogue.

General rotations with outpatient clinics at Thanh Hoa

Kidney diseases are also a very systemic problem. To broaden our understanding of this, we joined the Cardiology Department, where Dr Hiep and Dr Dung provided bedside teaching on various cardiological conditions like mitral stenosis — a condition more prevalent in Vietnam than in Singapore. His insights and unique method of teaching enabled us to draw connections throughout the plethora of cases regarding intertwined diseases, deepening our appreciation of the complexities of symptom management experientially.

Rotations with the Cardiology Department at Thanh Hoa

Biofair at Thanh Hoa Hospital

Our second deliverable was also a Biofair, a health education event aimed at patients in Thanh Hoa. Our Biofair was structured to be broad in scope yet engaging in detail, and we managed to deliver a unique learning experience to a group of elderly cardiology and nephrology patients. Aiming to address the systemic challenges that came with understanding kidney health, particularly surrounding lifestyle choices like diet and exercise, we engineered games involving basic exercise circuits and meal plan building, all designed to spur lifestyle modifications in a simplistic and fun manner. To reinforce their understanding of taking care of their own health, we also hosted a mini game show booth on trivia for our patients, accompanied by the guidance of our resident students, enabling our patients to better clear up any misconceptions about taking care of their kidney health.

Despite several curveballs — including reduced time allocation and fewer patients than expected — we adapted quickly by streamlining our booths and honing in on key messages. The experience was a valuable lesson in adaptability, teamwork, and tailoring outreach to the needs of the community. 

Our "Build Your Plate" station which teaches patients about good nutrition habits

Engaging Seminar & Cultural Exchanges

In Hanoi, our first point of contact and our friends for the trip were the HMU English Club Students, who welcomed us warmly with a cultural exchange session filled with interactive games and riddles. Their hospitality spanned across dinner, where we deepened our bonds over Central Vietnamese cuisine, strengthening friendships across cultures.

Likewise, our final day in Thanh Hoa featured a seminar with more HMU students, where we compared CKD in Singapore and Vietnam in terms of cost, prevalence, demographics, and renal replacement therapy options. Discussions extended to broader healthcare systems, including safety nets such as Singapore’s MediSave and government subsidies.

This was followed by a feedback session with HMU administrators and students, during which Thanh Hoa expressed a strong desire to continue this partnership and potentially expand it to student exchanges in Singapore. The day concluded with group photographs and farewells, cementing the bonds forged over the week.

Our cultural exchange with the lovely Thanh Hoa students!

Conclusion

The trip was an enriching experience, blending academic exchange, clinical exposure, cultural immersion, and friendship-building. We gained a deeper appreciation of the challenges faced by Vietnam’s healthcare system, particularly in the management of chronic diseases like CKD.

While this trip marks the end of an amazing partnership we have had with the communities we have worked with over the past three years, we are immensely grateful for the opportunities it provided to learn about the local healthcare scene! Till we meet again :)

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