At the program "Life is beautiful", MC Ngoc Lan talked with Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Bay.
Talking about her chance to join the field of Traditional Medicine, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Bay said: "I think it was fate."
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Bay shared: "1998 was the first year that the Traditional Medicine training program of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy was opened. My love for Traditional Medicine did not start from this year, but started earlier in 1991."
Recalling the past, she confided: “Many times I wanted to give up Oriental medicine, because at that time it was not respected by society, many people considered Oriental medicine to be a hard worker, picking herbs in the forest, or just continuing family traditions.
My family also doubted my ability: "Are you so bad at studying that you have to study Eastern medicine?"
From society, family and friends all look down on my industry, I have to endure a lot of criticism from everyone.
The mentality of a young person of 27-28 years old like me at that time, how could it be stable, so I just wanted to leave. My teacher said: "Are you going to abandon the efforts of your parents to raise you, the efforts of so many years of studying, and give up your medical career?"
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Bay is very grateful to her first teacher - Professor Bui Chi Hieu. In 1997, he suffered a stroke and was paralyzed on one side, but his students continued to pursue his passion.
In 1998, when the Faculty of Traditional Medicine was officially approved, he suffered a second stroke. When his students received the decision to present it to him, he could not say anything and cried so much that he became emotionally disturbed.
After crying, he laughed so hard that his temporomandibular joint dislocated. “That feeling of joy was so great, I will never forget it,” she said emotionally.
MC Ngoc Lan and Dr. Nguyen Thi Bay come to the final memory, which is the certificate of Outstanding Teacher from Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy for Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Bay.
She said that her first 32 students have been successful in their careers. Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Bay's most recent memorable memory was in 2023, on November 20, a student from a far away province came to visit her late at night. After talking and asking about her health, the student stood up and said to her: "Madam, on behalf of 5,796 doctors, I would like to wish you good health."
Only then did she know that she had trained nearly 6,000 traditional medicine doctors for the whole country, a huge number that she herself had never counted.