On Thursday night, the discussion Healthcare Trends and Nursing Care Services in Vietnam gave perspective on how Americans view foreign cultures’ healthcare systems in comparison to that of the Americas.  

Last week, events focusing on enhancing students’ knowledge of various cultures took place around campus during the University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s 22^nd Annual Intercultural Week.

Diane Pastor of UNCW’s School of Nursing said “Xin Chao,” Vietnamese for hello, to Vietnam after working to gain three grants covering the financial needs of a study abroad trip.  The dean of Columbia University reached out to Pastor with an offer to go overseas to Vietnam for 12 days with other professionals.  She received one grant from Columbia University and two from UNCW, allowing her to explore the cities of Hanoi and Saigon and the strife of the healthcare system in the two areas.

“The purpose was really to understand how their health system is organized,” Pastor said. 

Hanoi has two hospitals, but only one is open to the lower-middle class population encompassing the majority of the country.  The private hospital, L’Hospital Francais, can be used by just the small population of upper-class citizens since it houses expensive technology and provides full-service medical care. 

Bach Mai, Hanoi’s public hospital, holds about 1,900 beds, yet several patients must share a bed during their stay.  These conditions are unsanitary because incontinence or vomiting on the bed by one person subjects several patients to additional diseases. 

According to Pastor, in the United States, patients have their own room, much less their own hospital bed.  In addition, doctors spend approximately 30 to 45 minutes with each patient.  This average time a patient spends with a nurse in Vietnam is about four minutes due to the 100 patients each nurse tends to every day, said Pastor.  Some people stay an average of 11 days, compared to the four in American hospitals. 

The most surprising part of Pastor’s discussion was “the fact that people had to share beds,” UNCW student Kelsey Prillman said. 

She recalls her relationship with physicians like “half-doctor, half-therapist,” because they examine her with care and ask about her life. 

“Eighty percent of Vietnam nurses have two years of nursing education,” Pastor said.

She went on to explain the facts of Vietnam’s crippling healthcare system. Out of the entire country of Vietnam, which is almost as large as the state of California, there are five PhD-prepared nurses.  There are no physician assistants or nurse practitioners.  Contrary to the United States, one of the major diseases Vietnamese citizens face is rabies.  Due to the mountainous terrain, foxes and raccoons run rampant through the cities, proving a threat to anyone walking through the streets. 

When someone passes away in the United States, they may choose to donate their organs to save others’ lives in the future.  In Vietnam, “transplants are not done for the most part due to religious purposes,” Pastor said.  By taking an organ, the body is no longer considered intact, which goes against their beliefs.

This presentation was just one of the many events that took place this past week at UNCW to help broaden students’ horizons. 

“I learned about the differences in our healthcare and being able to appreciate it more,” Miranda Baker, a UNCW nursing major, said.  “I didn’t know you could get a doctorate in nursing.”

Pastor’s presentation gave insight to aspects of Vietnam’s medical culture that students do not have the opportunity to learn about firsthand.