FVH was founded by a team of French doctors in 2003 and as it’s 100 per cent funded by foreign investment, the Hospital has developed a team of young, talented Vietnamese doctors to succeed its international staff.

FV is committed to training a new generation of talented doctors.

Do Trong Khanh, MD, PhD, Medical Director of FV Hospital, believes that in the field of medicine, healthcare personnel are a matter of life and death, and doctors are the most valuable resource in the hospital. From the early days of its establishment, FV Hospital has focused on promoting the transfer of technology and treatment techniques between international doctors and experts with its Vietnamese medical staff. Today, most department head and deputy head positions across FV Hospital’s various specialties are held by Vietnamese doctors—the first generation of successor doctors.

FV Hospital now has a team of experienced Vietnamese experts aged 45 and above. The development of the next generation continues in each specialty through on-site training, sending doctors for overseas training, and participating in scientific research.

The hospital particularly encourages and provides opportunities for young doctors to explore new areas. Dr Nguyen The Hien, Imaging Department, is one of many young doctors whose expertise has grown rapidly thanks to FV Hospital’s talent training policies.

Since becoming a radiologist at FV Hospital’s Imaging Department in 2020, Dr Hien expressed a desire to research and develop the field of neurovascular intervention. In 2022, he began a one-year internship at the University Hospital of Montpellier, France, specialising in neurovascular intervention. Upon his return to FV, he continued working in the Imaging Department under the guidance of the French Head of Department, Dr Pierre Jaillot. Dr Hien had the opportunity to apply the knowledge he gained to diagnose and treat dangerous conditions such as cerebral artery stenosis and cerebral vascular malformations. This has made Dr Hien a rare young doctor with expertise in diagnostic imaging and neurovascular intervention, a relatively new field in Vietnam.

The case of Dr Nguyen Nam Binh is another success story in encouraging young people to explore new fields. Dr Nam Binh had 13 years of experience as a high-level anaesthesiologist at a large hospital in Ho Chi Minh City but was troubled by the underdeveloped field of pain management for cancer patients, which hindered her ability to adequately support patients. Dr Nam Binh met Dr Louis Brasseur, the Head of the Pain Clinic at FV Hospital. After listening to his aspirations of developing a specialist oncology pain treatment centre, she decided to join FV in 2021 to explore a new and challenging field in Vietnam with her new colleagues.

Recognising the dedication of this young doctor, FV provided Dr Nam Binh with opportunities to attend various training courses, including a study trip to learn from five major hospitals in pain management and cancer treatment in Switzerland. Dr Binh quips that she learned the most during her career during her first two years at FV—a period when she participated in 30 training courses, greatly contributing to the development of the Pain Management Centre.

Learning experiences for young doctors at FV are diverse and include short-term courses, international internships, learning from previous generations, and the opportunity to work directly with foreign experts who come to work at FV.

In the case of Dr Nguyen Huynh Ha Thu, who has been with Hy Vong Cancer Care Centre at FV for over four years, this journey has been a continuous learning experience through various training courses and learning from Dr Basma M’Barek, the head of the department.

“Dr Basma, my direct mentor, is very concerned about my learning journey and always makes an effort to create conditions to support me,” shares Dr Ha Thu.

Training the next generation: focusing on training system management thinking.

In recent years, FV has continuously sought and attracted young doctors— those who graduated fewer than 10 years previously, possess professional knowledge and good ethics, are quick to grasp technology, and who are keen to train the next generation. The “DNA” of doctors at FV Hospital is encapsulated in the core values: Young, Talented, Ambitious, Dynamic. “Finding doctors with the right potential and ambition takes time,” emphasises Dr Khanh.

Additionally, FV has a ranking system to evaluate doctors from levels one to nine; young doctors recruited by FV must start from level four and be evaluated annually. “FV’s clear ranking system helps young doctors understand their position. This system is one of several mechanisms for managing young doctors,” explains Dr Khanh.

Ms Phan Dieu Ha, Human Resources Director at FV Hospital, explains: “In the year-end evaluation period at FV, employees and managers will meet to discuss the achievements of the year and plan for the next one. Young doctors will review their career path, identify the skills they need to improve, and develop training plans for the next one to three years.”

Currently, young doctors work at eight specialised departments at FV under the guidance of department heads and deputy heads who are experts both domestically and internationally, giving them the opportunity to learn and grow.

A special aspect of FV in training the next generation is based on a management-oriented mindset rather than just medical knowledge. FV aims to train doctors with meticulous documentation of patient information, transparency, and adherence to the hospital’s JCI standards. Following such standards helps to mitigate risks and sets FV’s training of the younger generation apart, enabling young doctors to become confident and mature quickly.

Dr Vu Duy Hien is a young doctor at the Gastroenterology & Hepatology Department at FV Hospital who has been sent by FV to participate in various training programmes. He noted that working in a JCI-standard healthcare environment, which includes a commitment to patient-centred medical practice and a focus on quality, means he feels he can provide better assistance to patients. Practicing medicine in a JCI-accredited system requires the development of a professional work ethic, and through this process, young doctors like him gradually standardise their thinking and professional skills.

Investing in the younger generation brings several values:

As the person in charge of the hospital’s professional matters, Dr Do Trong Khanh, Medical Director of FV Hospital, recognises the true value of investing in young doctors, especially when selecting those with vision. They will bring fresh perspectives to the hospital, strive to learn, and collaborate with colleagues in building new strategies for the next five to 10 years. By supporting and learning from previous generations, these young individuals will quickly become experts in their respective fields, thereby being able to assist thousands of patients.

Young doctors are known for their dynamism, eagerness to learn, and rapid adaptation to technology. They assist senior experts in implementing scientific research projects, which contributes to the overall development of their departments and adds value to the medical community.

In the international-standard environment at FV, young doctors are thriving and rapidly maturing. They represent the next generation of highly talented and dedicated medical professionals. As Dr Stéphane Romano, one of the ten French founders of FV, remarked, “The quality of Vietnamese doctors is very high. This is why patients are very satisfied with FV’s services.”