The Hospital's Research Symposium

The three weeks following our travels were a blurr. The days were packed with sending out resumes, research presentations, a ceremony acknowledging the hospitals 30th anniversary, and putting some finishing touches on some of the projects our group has been working on for the daycare. 

The research presentations brought in doctors and therapists from all over Vietnam, to share their departments progress and/or findings. Most of the presentations were in Vietnamese but our volunteers were able to grasp some of the information through pictures, help from the translators, and recognizing some of the words that we knew. Talk about a way to practice my Vietnamese. Since I'm volunteering in an Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Hospital, most of the research presentations were about bone reconstructive surgeries and physical therapy techniques. However, my favorite presentation was one that discussed the benefits of exercise. The doctor explained how exercise supplies more blood flow to the brain and stimulates neuronal formation. I learned about this concept in a neurology class I took at Ithaca but it was interesting to hear about it from a different country's point of view. 

However, at the end of the presentation a man stood up and asked why the doctor used and trusted "outside" or American research ( the presentation had American research articles to use as sources). Ironically, I was sitting right in front of the man giving the argument so the whole room turned around to listen to the debate.... Yupp I was the only American sitting in the room, awkwardly in-between two doctors heatedly discussing the legitimacy of American science. 

Studying neurology in college gave me the resources to know and experiment with the different neurological concepts we learned about in textbooks. From experience, I have a stronger faith in American science but, I can see from the doctors point of view---science is a fluid and constantly changing field so who has the right to say one belief is better than another? 

Here are some pictures from the research presentation. I was a part of the welcoming committee and was able to borrow an ao dai to wear:

Wearing a Vietnamese Traditional Dress

                                                

My mentor, Xuan and I

Vu, Zara, and I welcoming the hospital guests

My good friends Tiep and Duong ( Left 1 & 2) who also work at the hospital