Associate Professor, Dr Vu Thi Thanh Huyen, Head of the Endocrinology and Rheumatology department at the National Geriatric Hospital, has not only successfully treated thousands of patients, but also carried out meaningful scientific works in the treatment of endocrinological diseases and the musculoskeletal problems that are recognized worldwide.
Born in 1973 and grown in non-medical family, her parents always hoped that she could become a qualified doctor. Dr Vu Thi Thanh Huyen used to observe her father suffering from shortness of breath due to asthma and she wished to be a doctor to prevent him from this problem. She tried to study to become a doctor with the desire to cure his illness. Six years of studying in a general practitioner program at Hanoi Medical University helped her to have an orientation toward her future career.
"Learning is a tireless journey of work, and practicing medicine is a process of training"
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In 1998, Dr Huyen applied for a scholarship from The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and continued to study Endocrinology at the University of Heidelberg (Germany). After graduating, she worked at the Department of General Internal Medicine, National Geriatric Hospital.
Dr Vu Thi Thanh Huyen, Head of the Endocrinology and Rheumatology department at the National Geriatric Hospital. Photo: Thanh Giang/VNP
Dr Vu Thi Thanh Huyen at the first Vietnam National Dementia Conference. Photo: Dr Huyen's Files
Huyen works with experts from the Australian Association of Gerontology. Photo: Dr Huyen’s Files
Dr Huyen works with WHO experts in Vietnam. Photo: Dr Huyen’s Files
Huyen in a photo with international experts from the Swedish Nobel Prize Council, who came to Vietnam
to participate in a series of events to celebrate diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Sweden in Hanoi in 2019. Photo: Dr Huyen’s Files
Dr Vu Thi Thanh Huyen at the signing ceremony of the international cooperation between Hanoi Medical University and the University of South Carolina (US). Photo: Dr Huyen's Files
Dr Vu Thi Thanh Huyen participated in the event marking 10 years of experience in treating osteoporosis in Vietnam in 2020. Photo: Thanh Giang/VNP
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In 2005, Dr Huyen was accepted as a PhD at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden under the SIDA/SAREC scholarship. This is a prestigious medical university, where the Nobel Prize in Medicine is awarded every year.
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Dr Vu Thi Thanh Huyen won the Young Researcher Award of the Endocrine Society (2011) and is the leader of many international cooperation projects with the Asia-Pacific Diabetes Federation, Australia, Sweden, and Japan. |
In 2009, with the cooperation of the two medical institutions in Sweden and Germany, Dr Huyen simultaneously attended an advanced course on methods of screening and managing diabetic foot diseases at the University of Regensburg, Germany. Completing her doctoral thesis required a lot of effort but Dr Huyen successfully finished both courses with excellent results.
With the enthusiasm and her effort, she finally deserved to receive many international medical degrees with excellent results. When returning to Vietnam, Dr Huyen was able to perform many different tasks at the same time from medical examination, treatment, scientific research, management and training. Currently, she is the head of the Endocrinology and Rheumatology department and Scientific Research Department - National Geriatric Hospital and vice head of Geriatrics Department at Hanoi Medical University. For 4 consecutive years (2017-2020), Dr Huyen received the Dang Van Ngu award for her dedication to medicine and research.
Dr Huyen has also had a lot of presentations at international conferences on Endocrinology in the United States, Sweden, Austria, Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. She has published 27 peer-reviewed international papers and more than 150 national articles in specialized journals.
Dr Huyen can speak fluently three foreign languages, English, French and German, which has helped her to read medical literature and have international lectures.
In addition to her professional work, Dr Huyen weekly has lectures at Hanoi Medical University. Her enthusiastic and dedicated lectures are loved by the students. She not only teaches students how to work, but also trains them to be confident and skillful in medical and social communication so that medical students could become perfect doctors to treat elderly patients. She believes that "Learning is a tireless journey of work, and practicing medicine is a process of training". And she is still inspiring the younger generation of doctors and nurses with that simple truth.
Story: Bich Van
Photos: Tran Thanh Giang & Files