Double valedictorian
At the 2025 graduation ceremony, Phung The Thong (born in 1997) was honored as one of the first three students to complete the residency program at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy - Vietnam National University, Hanoi , specializing in Oncology. Thong was the only male student to achieve Excellent with the highest score of 3.77, and was also the first person in the school to achieve this achievement.
Sharing with VietNamNet reporter , Thong said he was very happy and proud of the efforts he made on the journey.
This is understandable because everyone in the industry knows that to achieve this result, medical students must go through a very rigorous entrance exam, and only a few residents are selected for each course. Not only that, the learning process and output are both very demanding.
Previously, in 2021, Thong was also the valedictorian of the entire University of Medicine and Pharmacy - University of General Medicine after 6 years of studying General Medicine.
Phung The Thong is an excellent graduate of the first class of the residency program at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy - Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Photo: Thanh Hung.
To achieve such remarkable results, Thong said, from the beginning he determined his passion and set a goal to focus on pursuing.
“During that process, I often told myself to be persistent and always be ready to struggle and stumble to learn more knowledge and experience in the profession,” Thong said.
The male student learns not only from doctors, teachers, and seniors, but also from friends and colleagues at hospitals. Thong also regularly reads and consults foreign documents and achievements of world medicine.
Stick to your passion instead of thinking about income early.
Talking about the reason for pursuing a major in oncology instead of majors with higher income after graduation such as Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dentistry... Thong said: "When I encounter a difficult problem, I have the motivation to find the answer."
The male student said the decision was made only because of his passion and desire to contribute to pushing back the terrible disease. “In the first days of studying medicine, contact with cancer cases left a very deep impression on me. I once knew a 12-year-old boy from Cao Bang who had leukemia, and his family was in a difficult highland area. His illness was discovered at a late stage, so he had severe pain. One evening on duty, when I passed by the room and saw the boy's absent-minded eyes looking out the window, my heart ached. From then on, it motivated me to study and research to find a way to treat them,” Thong said.
During his studies and clinical practice with patients, Thong always asked himself questions such as why problems and phenomena arise,... then tried to find answers.
“The field I am pursuing is cancer - a difficult problem for both domestic and international medicine. But the more difficult it is, the more I see that this is a field with many prospects for new directions in the future. Currently, almost all the latest achievements in medicine are expected to be applied in the treatment and prevention of cancer.”
Prof. Dr. Le Ngoc Thanh, Rector of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy - VNU, awarded the diploma to Phung The Thong. At the 2025 graduation ceremony, a total of 349 graduates from 6 regular training majors and 37 masters and resident doctors received their diplomas. Photo: Thanh Hung.
Thong said that during his residency training, he mainly studied theory with specialized master's classes and clinical practice at hospitals.
In the field of cancer, Thong always tells himself that before each case, the first thing he needs to have is empathy for the patient, even acting as a relative of theirs. “I always try to communicate to sympathize with the patient and know what they want, what their circumstances are. From there, we can find the right direction and optimal method, suitable for the patient. That means in addition to understanding the pathology, we also have to understand the patient's psychology. Because psychological treatment in cancer plays a very important role,” Thong shared.
With this result, Thong said, he has now been accepted to work at a public hospital in Hanoi. After participating in the work of diagnosing, treating and caring for patients for a few years, he wants to continue studying at a higher level in the field of oncology.
Thong said that by choosing the cancer major, he is determined to pursue his passion, instead of thinking about earning too much at this time.
“I also hope to have the opportunity to go to countries with advanced medicine to exchange and learn more experiences to have more methods to help patients,” Thong said.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nam-sinh-dau-tien-tot-nghiep-bac-si-noi-tru-loai-gioi-cua-truong-dh-y-duoc-2427041.html
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