In October 2023, Anthony Dolan FACN joined a group of Australian nurses and health professionals on the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) Study Tour to Vietnam. The two-week trip offered a unique opportunity for participants to immerse themselves in a new cultural and healthcare environment. The group gained insights into the distinct challenges faced by the Vietnamese healthcare system by visiting various local hospitals and clinics. The tour also emphasised cultural enrichment, allowing attendees to delve into Vietnam’s rich culinary traditions, history, and culture. This experience not only broadened their cultural horizons but also significantly enhanced their professional skills and learning. Anthony was one of eight participants who received a scholarship from the ACN Foundation to participate in the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
It is a pleasure to summarise my experience from the 2023 ACN Study Tour to Vietnam.
I want to thank ACN for their support in enabling me to attend the tour. Additionally, I would like to thank Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN for her passion, leadership, and kindness throughout the trip
In this article:
- What motivated you to apply for the ACN Study Tour Scholarship?
- In what ways did your experience in Vietnam improve your leadership skills and how will you apply what you have learned to your ongoing work?
- What did you learn about the healthcare system in Vietnam and how it compares to Australia?
- What were some of the cultural highlights on the tour?
- Does any single experience stand out for you?
- What would you say to anyone thinking of applying for this scholarship?
What motivated you to apply for the ACN Study Tour Scholarship?
With experience in nursing leadership for many years I was keen to challenge myself in other ways and to seek opportunities to reflect on what other health systems did or did not do and how I could learn from other systems. I had previously looked at health systems within Australia to seek benchmark opportunities but had never looked internationally. Having been a member of ACN for many years, and spending time mentoring other Emerging Nurse Leaders, the Vietnam tour presented an opportunity to challenge myself, grow my nursing network, and learn from others within the tour and also across the Vietnam health system.
In what ways did your experience in Vietnam improve your leadership skills and how will you apply what you have learned to your ongoing work?
Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to all my fellow tour participants. They are an amazing group of nurses and doctors, dedicated to their profession with a sense of enthusiasm and passion to support all aspects of nursing and the future of the nursing profession. This experience provided an opportunity to look at another country with mixed and diverse healthcare options. It showed me that nursing care can be provided at a high standard with limited resources. As an example, we visited the major public teaching hospital in Hanoi, Bach Mai. What an experience to see how fortunate we are in Australia with our nurse-to-patient ratio compared to other hospitals. Bach Mai had an average of 1 nurse to 25 patients in the general wards! Not something we would see across Australia. It was also enlightening to see a health system where the family plays a pivotal role in patient care. It really identified how a patient and family-centred model of care can work. The other amazing learning was the role of traditional medicine in the Vietnamese healthcare system. It was such an experience to listen and learn from the passionate nursing, medical, and pharmacy staff on how traditional medicine can help with recovery, symptom management, and pain relief. This is something I am keen to review more and look at how complementary medicine can play a stronger role in our models of care.
What did you learn about the healthcare system in Vietnam and how it compares to Australia?
There were a lot of similarities to our system, mainly the passion of the nursing staff to care for and make a difference to patient outcomes. This is very strong in Vietnamese and Australian nurses, and it was a pleasure to be able to witness that across two vastly different healthcare systems. The Vietnamese healthcare system demonstrated a difference between the public and private sectors and the ability to have timely access to diagnoses and treatment. It was evident to me that the private system had more access to modern technology and diagnostic tools but the passion and enthusiasm to make a difference with what they had was palpable in the public hospitals we visited. The role of traditional medicine was so important in all areas of Vietnam we visited from major teaching hospitals to the charity-run health care centres. It seemed that traditional medicine was used a lot by patients as an alternative to Western medicine, something that is very different in comparison to Australian care. Vietnamese people were very gracious and their gratitude to the hospital staff was fantastic. They always seemed thankful that they could access nursing care, could speak with healthcare professionals, and could access alternative options for care, which seemed a little different to our healthcare system.
What were some of the cultural highlights on the tour?
The main cultural highlight for me was the passion for family life, support for family and the determination to ensure connection within families whether that be part of health care or everyday life. The Vietnamese people really cared for each other, watched out for each other, and shared what they had with each other, which was such a pleasure to witness and be part of during the tour. My fondest memory is how friendly, happy and, hospitable the Vietnamese people were to you. They always had a smile, and would go out of their way to help you but most of all they always made you feel safe and welcomed in all situations and locations.
I would also like to add that the Vietnamese people are so proud of their history, passionate about sharing their stories and allowing us to learn from their history and life experiences, an amazing experience that I will never forget. My last cultural thought is their passion for food. They have an amazing ability to share their culture through how and what they cook. Their culinary skills were fantastic.
Does any single experience stand out for you?
The visit to the largest public teaching hospital in Hanoi, Bach Mai Hospital, and services. It was such a privilege to see nursing care in action where the environment and resources were so different to the Australian system, to listen to the student nurses on their journey to becoming Registered Nurses, their involvement in their nursing school, and their enthusiasm to learn from the nurses on the tour. I loved our conversations and wished we had more time to chat with the student nurses at the Bach Mai Hospital. I had such a wonderful feeling of excitement and energy as we walked around the clinical areas. The staff showed amazing teamwork, dedication to their roles, a sense of pride in what they do and what they have, and created an energy within the hospital that felt safe and happy with a strong commitment to providing excellent nursing care. I left the Bach Mai Hospital with a real sense of reinvigoration and passion for nursing.
What would you say to anyone thinking of applying for this scholarship?
Go for it! Don’t just think about it, apply and do it. It is often hard to put yourself first and the impact of being away for the duration of the nursing tour can be daunting but with planning and determination, you can arrange it. This has been an amazing experience for me, it allowed me to grow my professional connections with other amazing nurses from around Australia and see how nursing and health care are delivered overseas. But most of all this experience has created new friendships that will continue into the future.
Join us on an enlightening journey as we embark on the next ACN Study Tour to Greece and Turkey from 15 September to 27 September 2024. Thanks to the generous support of the ACN Foundation, we are proud to offer four exclusive Study Tour scholarships, each providing up to $5,000 in funding. This is an unparalleled opportunity to immerse yourself in diverse cultures and broaden your professional perspective. Apply now to be part of this unforgettable and enriching experience.
By Anthony Dolan FACN
