Nhung Nguyen - Vietnam
Growing up in the States with deep cultural ties in Vietnam, my identity is a bridging cumulation between the East and West. Through the support of Global Programs, this summer I had the opportunity to uncover pieces of identity in my Que Huong, my home country, Vietnam. My time here was primarily a clinical and teaching based experience centered in Hue, a serene imperial city located in the heart of central Vietnam.
I connected with my mentor, Dr. Hien Bui, when she visited UC Davis one year prior on a USDA Faculty Exchange. Dr. Bui is a lecturer at the Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry, where I engaged in a transformative academic teaching experience. I organized journal club teaching seminars for Vietnamese veterinary students, translating classes between both English and Vietnamese. My preparation included researching journal articles and preparing presentations pertained to infectious disease management, biosecurity measurement, and prevention of antibiotic resistance– all prevalent One Health challenges faced in Vietnam. Here I reconnected with the joys that stem from sharing knowledge, remembering that my role as a teacher is a two-way learning opportunity. I want to continuously foster learning environments that are uplifting, inspiring, and safe to be curious within.
Dr. Bui kindly connected me with my clinical mentor Dr. Hoang Chung, who owns four different practices throughout Hue. Rotating between four veterinary clinics and working with Dr. Chung’s diversified team of veterinarians, I performed my very first spay and neuter surgeries, treated patients through mobile home visits, expanded my views through eastern medicinal practices, addressed diseases and medical challenges prevalent in Vietnam, and learned how to think critically in a clinical setting. Only a few decades ago, veterinary medicine did not yet exist in Vietnam. Yet here, I observed the blossoming of this profession, translating directly into the increased care for animal well-being. I learned it is all within perspective. Differences in standards of care do not equate to a lack of care, but rather a lack of adequate resources. I recognized what can be perceived as struggles in my daily life seamlessly evaporate into privileges in my home country. In a land where equality takes varying shapes and forms for both animals, people, and the environment they share, I learned how to use my voice to advocate with respect and dignity for those vulnerable.
Many special moments of daily connection stemmed from everyday language. I had a unique opportunity to attend a Heart Failure Veterinary Conference, welcoming over 200 veterinarians from across Vietnam and Thailand. Here I got to reinforce my understanding of cardiology in Vietnamese and join wonderful dialogues and exchange of ideas. The majority of my community here only speak Vietnamese, allowing me to practice my mother tongue in new heights through medical vocabulary. To think & communicate in different languages is a gift, and one I will always advocate for in my encounters.
I even had the special honor of having my UC Davis mentor, Dr. Karl Jandrey, visit Hue! Together we participated in seminars with faculty and staff at Hue University, shadowed my clinical rotations, and immersed in the vast wonders of Vietnamese culture.
In understanding my home country in a veterinary & cultural capacity, I understand more of myself, and the communities around me. I am reminded that empathy and compassion are universal languages, that a simple smile can cross an ocean of barriers. In connecting, and reconnecting with pieces of my identity, I can feel eastern and western cultures intertwine, not defined by, but uplifted by the differences and similarities shared in between.
