Think of 'a good doctor is like a mother'

Every year on Vietnamese Doctors' Day, February 27, the whole country honors those working in the medical field. This is not only an occasion to express gratitude for the silent contributions of the medical team, but also an opportunity to look back and deepen the noble morality of "a good doctor is like a mother".

The saying "a good doctor is like a mother" or "a good doctor must be like a mother" (Excerpt from Uncle Ho's letter to the Medical Conference cadreseconomyFebruary 27, 1955) originated from the profound humanistic thought of President Ho Chi Minh, emphasizing the role of a doctor is not only to cure diseases but also to cure with all the compassion and devotion of a mother to her children.

Throughout history, the Vietnamese medical industry has constantly strived to realize this philosophy through concrete actions.

In recent years, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, the image of doctors and nurses working day and night, far from their families, sacrificing their health to save patients has been deeply engraved in the minds of every citizen. Stories of doctors exhausted at their desks, nurses crying silently when witnessing patients dying, or volunteers willing to rush into the epidemic center... all prove that the spirit of "a good doctor is like a mother" is still intact and shining.

In Hai Duong province, there has been a lot of attention paid to health care in recent times and many remarkable results have been achieved. The grassroots health system has been invested in and upgraded, helping to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment for people. Provincial hospitals have deployed many modern medical techniques, reducing the number of referrals to central hospitals. Disease prevention has also achieved many successes, with full vaccination for people and raising public awareness of disease prevention.

Hai Duong also focuses on training and improving the professional qualifications of medical staff, while promoting administrative procedure reform in medical examination and treatment, helping people access medical services more conveniently.

However, reality also poses many challenges. Medicine is a noble but stressful profession. Many doctors and nurses face stressful working conditions, inadequate income, and even misunderstandings and pressure from society. Therefore, to maintain the spirit of "a good doctor is like a mother", in addition to the dedication of the doctor, attention from leaders at all levels, understanding from patients and the whole society is needed.

Besides the sacrifices and dedication to the sick, there are still some doctors who are not truly like mothers, affecting the medical profession and causing resentment in society. Negative cases, lack of responsibility, taking advantage of patients, like "a bad apple spoiling the barrel", not only lose the trust of the people but also affect the honor of true doctors. This is an issue that needs to be recognized and overcome so that the medical profession can truly become a solid support for the people.

In the new situation, the requirements for caring for and protecting people's health and medical examination and treatment pose many responsibilities not only to the medical sector but also to the whole society. The medical sector needs to continue to innovate, improve the quality of medical services, invest in modern equipment, develop high-quality human resources and promote preventive medicine. All levels and sectors need to strengthen support policies and ensure reasonable remuneration for medical staff. At the same time, there needs to be specific solutions such as improving the health insurance system, reducing the load on upper-level hospitals, and strengthening grassroots health care to improve the effectiveness of community health care.

In addition, the policy of training and developing medical human resources needs to be given more attention, ensuring sufficient human resources for both urban and rural areas. Programs to improve medical ethics and continuous training for medical staff also need to be implemented synchronously to improve the quality of medical services. The application of technology in healthcare such as remote medical examination and treatment, electronic health records is also an important direction to help improve the effectiveness of medical examination and treatment.

On the occasion of Vietnamese Doctors' Day, February 27, I would like to express my deep gratitude to those who have been and are contributing to the medical profession. At the same time, let's join hands to build a humane medical environment, where medical ethics are always promoted, patients are cared for wholeheartedly and medical professionals always feel respected by the community.