A national chemistry prize once marked Pham Quang Minh as a standout student. Now, after six years of medical training, he has emerged at the top of a demanding residency exam.
Pham Quang Minh initially chose dentistry and maxillofacial medicine because of his grandfather’s hopes for him. The deeper he went into the field, however, the more convinced he became that it was the right path. Six years later, Minh has graduated as the top-ranked candidate in the specialty’s residency examination at Hanoi Medical University.
Minh, born in 2002 in Ninh Binh Province, has topped the residency entrance examination in dentistry and maxillofacial medicine at Hanoi Medical University, scoring 27 out of 30.
Minh said he had calculated his score himself after completing the exam, but never expected it would place him first among candidates in his specialty.
A career inspired by his grandfather
Pham Quang Minh topped Hanoi Medical University’s residency examination in dentistry and maxillofacial medicine.
During high school, Minh attended Bien Hoa High School for the Gifted in the former Ha Nam Province and won a prize in the national competition for outstanding students in chemistry. Given his academic strengths, his parents often encouraged him to pursue medicine.
His grandfather was equally supportive. After dental appointments, he would often return home and tell Minh about the working environment at the clinic, the professionalism of the staff and their meticulous approach to patient care. Seeing the doctors there, he hoped that one day his grandson might become a dentist and maxillofacial doctor himself.
Those conversations prompted Minh to learn more about the profession and eventually apply to Hanoi Medical University.
“The more I studied after entering university, the more I realized I had made the right choice,” Minh recalled.
According to Minh, dentistry and maxillofacial medicine encompasses two relatively distinct areas. Dentistry focuses largely on teeth and treatments performed inside the mouth, while maxillofacial medicine is closely tied to the hospital environment, ranging from surgery for facial trauma, fractures and cysts to the treatment of complex conditions such as cancers of the maxillofacial region.
Minh began gaining exposure to clinical practice in his third year. The more time he spent with patients, the more clearly he understood the connection between what he had learned in lectures and the realities of treatment.
“I find the maxillofacial field very logical, and it suits the way I think. Even when studying the theory, you can see how different areas of knowledge connect, and from there you learn how to reason through each clinical case,” Minh said.
One case that has stayed with him occurred during his fourth year, while he was undergoing clinical training at the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology. A patient had developed a severe abscess in the maxillofacial region, with swelling so extensive that it threatened to obstruct the airway. Without timely emergency treatment, the condition could have become dangerous.
Minh assisted in the operation to drain the abscess. It was the first time he had encountered such a case, and he admitted feeling somewhat overwhelmed.
“That was when I really understood that what we learn is not confined to textbooks. When faced with a real patient, a doctor has to quickly identify the problem and decide how to deal with it,” Minh recalled.
Studying 10 hours a day for the residency exam
Minh on his university graduation day.For Minh, finishing first in the residency examination is a source of pride, but not the ultimate goal.
By his fourth year, Minh had made a serious commitment to preparing for the residency examination. He formed a study group with three friends. For foundational subjects they had first studied in their freshman year, Minh found himself having to relearn much of the material.
He knew memorization alone would not be enough. He needed to understand the fundamentals because the basic sciences were closely connected with his specialty.
During this period, Minh spent around eight to 10 hours studying each day. Whenever he encountered something he did not understand, he searched for additional materials and kept reading until he could explain the concept aloud in his own words.
But as the examination approached, the pressure intensified. There were days when Minh sat in front of his books and found himself unable to absorb anything more.
“Before, I would simply study at my own pace and stop when I became tired. But while preparing for the residency exam, there were times when I desperately wanted to keep studying, yet my mind just went blank and nothing would go in,” Minh said.
At such moments, he would stop, listen to music or remind himself of the goal he had set before returning to his desk.
Another major source of pressure was the graduation examination, particularly its clinical component. Students had to complete 10 consecutive stations, spending 10 minutes at each as they were assessed on a range of practical skills using simulation models - from filling and extracting teeth to communicating with patients and following sterile procedures. Lecturers stood nearby to observe their performance.
Students who failed the examination would have to wait several months before taking it again, meaning they would also miss the residency examination as originally planned.
That was why, from the beginning of his sixth year, Minh and his friends bought their own equipment to practice. For roughly 10 weeks before the examinations, his schedule was almost completely full: mornings were devoted to graduation exam preparation at the university, while the rest of his time went into studying for the residency exam.
This year’s residency examination consisted of three tests covering 13 subjects. The foundational sciences test included four subjects: anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and medical genetics. The first specialty test covered dentistry-related subjects, while the second included two subjects related to surgery.
Minh considered the foundational sciences section relatively manageable, while the specialty examinations covered a much broader and more difficult body of knowledge. Even so, he scored 27 out of 30, becoming this year’s top-ranked candidate in dentistry and maxillofacial medicine.
For Minh, finishing first is a source of pride, but he does not see the achievement as a destination.
“I want to focus on learning. The three years of residency will be an incredibly valuable period for me to immerse myself in the hospital environment and learn under the guidance of my teachers and more experienced colleagues,” Minh said.
Vietnamnet.vn
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