vnmap medical mission 2010 newsletter

8/8/2019 VNMAP Medical Mission 2010 Newsletter

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Introduction

A Message

From

VNMAP

We are delighted to

announce that VNMAP

has had another success-ful year! With the 2010

medical mission trip

completed, we wouldlike to share with you

some memories from

our two weeks in VietNam. We hope that the

information detailed inthis newsletter will cap-

ture the moments and

memories that we will

never forget.

J u l y 3 1 , 2 0 1 0

Content

Daily activities ….p 1-2

Mission highlight ….p 3

Mission in pictures and

Acknowledgement ...p 4

Through the trip, each medical

student, PA student and interpreter tried

his/her best to provide the best medicalcare for the patients. At each site, the

medical students did a thorough physi-

cal examination and addressed con-cerns the patients have. In analyzing

the patients’ diagnosis, the most com-

mon illnesses were headaches, arthritis,hypertension, GERD, osteoporosis, and

musculoskeletal problems.During our stay at Tien Giang

and Vinh Long , we witnessed amazing

sceneries, did a lot of fun activities andate delicious foods.

At the end of the trip when we

all reflected on the mission, we all felt

the trip was a great experience not onlyto learn from other members in the

group, but also to explore the different

aspects of Viet Nam. However, the tripcould not be possible without the help

of the donors, Vietnamese volunteers,

physicians, volunteers and medical stu-

dents.

Daily Activities: June 13-June 29

The medical mission trip this year

to Vinh Long and Tien Giang

provinces consisted of three medi-cal students, one physician assis-

tant, five interpreters and two phy-sicians. Upon our arrival in Viet

Nam, we also had 3 Viet Namese

physicians, 2 nurses and 2 pharma-cists who assisted in our mission.

Between June 13 to June 29, the

team visited 9 sites and treated

1910 patients.

June 13. The first day of our mission trip. We had

our first team dinner at Liem Phuong Hotel and offi-

cially got to meet the team members of the trip. Af-

ter our dinner, we spent two hours packaging medi-

cines for the clinic.

June 14 . At 6:30 a.m we began packing medical supplies into the bus and

headed to Vinh Long. On our way, we stopped at a restaurant with beautiful

landscaping and had our lunch.

Viet Nam Medical Assistance Program

2010 Medical Mission TripNewsletter



Daily activities cont.

June 15. Our first site was at Xa Thoi Hoa. At this site

we saw 230 patients, who were mainly poor elderly

women. Most of the patients’ complaints were primar-

ily headaches, back pain and gastrointestinal problems.

June 16. Xa Nhon Binh was our next site and at this

site we saw 220 patients.

June 17. Our third site was Xuan Hiep. At this site we

saw 220 patients. We encountered one interesting case

of basal cell carcinoma, which provided a great learn-ing experience for the medical students as well as for

the interpreters.

June 18. Our last site in Vinh Long was in Xa Hoa

Binh. At this site we saw 210 people.

June 19. On our first break day we went to an island

called Vinh Sang. There we toured the fruits garden.We did many fun activities such as riding ostriches, ate

a delicious lunch and then headed to Tien Giang prov-

ince.

June 20. Our first day in Tien Giang, we saw 215 pa-tients at Xa Tan Thuan Binh. We had many cases simi-

lar to those at Vinh Long. The patients were elderly

women who were farmers and had back pain and joint

pain.

June 21. We visited Xa Tan Binh Thanh and saw 210

patients .

June 22. At Xa Trung Hoa-Huyen Chau Thanh we saw

210 patients. We had a case of gout, a disease caused

by the accumulation of uric acid. The patient case wasa little severe which we could not treat so we recom-

mended him to a specialist.

June 23. Our second break day. On this daywe visited 2 islands called Dao Con Lon and

Dao con Phuong in Tien Giang. On the island

we drank honey tea and did many other activi-

ties..

June 24 We visited Xa Tam Hiep and saw 210

patients. Today we got to diagnose a large

number of

children.

June 25. Our last day working was at Xa TanLy Dong , where we saw 190 patients. We did-

n’t have as many patients as we had hoped for.

June 26. The team headed back to Saigon. On

our way back we stopped by New Village

Clinic, a private clinic to care for the poor inGo Vap District. At the clinic, Dr. Phan, the

head physician, gave a description of the clinic

and took us on a tour of the clinic.

June 27. We visited Bung Sang Organization,which is a home for the blind and an orphan-

age in charge by Father Hoang Van Binh .

During our visit, we gave out goodies and

toothbrushes and got to know the children.

June 28. We visited the nursing home in Cu

Chi and Thien Phuoc, a home for disabled chil-

dren. They were very happy to see us there.

June 29. In the morning we visited Tam Duc

Hospital and were given a tour of the place. At

night we all gathered together and ate our last

dinner together before the team was dismissed.



Upon our return to Saigon, we visited many places and learned a lot from those places.

The first place we stopped by was a small clinic called New Village Clinic, At the clini

we were introduced to the employees and were given a description of the types of work

Dr. Phan does at the clinic. Afterward, we were given a tour of the place and learned a

lot more about the place and the types of operation that he does.

The next day at Saigon, we visited Bung Sang, a home for blind children and an orphan

age in charge by Father Hoang Van Binh. We spent most of our afternoon getting to

know them .

We also visited a nursing home in Cu Chi., where we conversed with the elders. Our

next stop was at Thien Phuoc Home, a home for disabled children that is run by the loc

nuns. At both sites, it was very sad to witness the conditions the elders and the disabl

children were in; we were glad that our present gave them joy.

Educational Programs & Health Survey

Our Visits

In addition to providinghealth care for the patients,

health education and survey

were also conducted.Health education this year

was conducted differently

compared to last year.This year, we wanted to

dedicate more attention toeach patient, so the

Many patients were

taken care of! The

group members have

a good relationship!

I hope to participate

in VNMAP’s mission

team in many years

after.

~ Dr. Thong Luong–

Vietnamese Doctor

Mission Highlights

On this trip, despite the lack of technologies, each medical /PA student and interpreter

worked collaboratively to provide the best care for the patients.

At every clinic, the medical students and physician assistants had

a chance to coordinate the setting for each site so that all the pa-tients could be seen in a timely manner. After being triaged, pa-

tients are seen by one of the medical/ PA students, and based onthe diagnosis, prescriptions are given. Each prescription is re-

viewed by the physician, who confirms it or makes further recommendations for treat-

ment. At each clinic, we saw acute as well as chronic condi-

tions. For the chronic conditions such as hypertension and dia-betes, we recommended the patients to see their doctor regu-

larly. As for the acute conditions, we educated them about pre-

vention methods.

education was a one to one

consultation on problems themedical students believe the

patient needs to know. The

topics for the educationincluded hypertension,

diabetes, women's health,

respiratory problems, acid

reflux, diarrhea, nutritionand safety.

The survey we conducted

this year focused on hy-pertension due to a large

number of hypertension

cases in the previousmission trip. In this

survey, we hope to

understand the cause for

the high hypertensionrate in Viet Nam.

Providing Health Care



The success of our 2010 Medical Mission Trip to Viet Nam could not have been made possible without the help

of many people. We are very thankful for all of the financial support from the donors. In addition, many indi-viduals donated supplies for us to bring to Viet Nam, which we are also grateful for. Furthermore, the trip

would not have been successful without the experience and expertise of the team physicians as well as our teampharmacist. Especially this year, we have built a strong collaboration with and received a lot of help from our

partners in Viet Nam; Vinh Long and Tien Giang’s volunteers, and the officials and physicians in Tam Duc

Heart Hospital in Saigon.

VNMAP’s Sponsors: ~Trandai Financial Solution, LLC

~Catholic University of America ~John Hopkins School of Medicine

~ Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine ~Woodholme Gastroenterology AssociThe Nguyen’s Gift Shop ~Mr. & Mrs. Tuan and Phuong Pham ~Mr. & Mrs. Hoang and Mai Nguy

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

"Together we experienced a new side

of Viet Nam that was at times shock-

ing and sad, and at others, fun and

exciting. The clinic days were tiring,

but every day, we would meet at least

a few truly wonderful patients or be

able to help someone who was really

sick - these moments made things like

waking up early and working in the

heat completely worthwhile“

~ Michelle Phan– Volunteer

VNMAP 2010 Medical Mission

in Pictures

This mission offered me a chance to work inti-

mately with physicians, and see a large volume of

patients with pathologies rarely seen in the US. In

a very short time, I became comfortable with a

streamlined patient interview, basic physical

exam, case presentation, and writing prescrip-

tions. The experience was invaluable to my growth as a future physician and I am very grate-

ful to have had this opportunity!"

~ Hayley Ryan

vnmap medical mission 2010 newsletter

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