At the “Match Day” for selecting medical residency specialties at Hanoi Medical University, Duc was called to the stage in fourth place after outperforming thousands of candidates. Duc scored 24.75 out of 30 points, just 0.16 points behind the valedictorian.

As soon as Duc announced his choice of Cardiology, the entire auditorium erupted in applause and cheers, as the specialty is considered a challenging field. Duc is also the first student from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy under Vietnam National University, Hanoi to rank among the top four in Hanoi Medical University's residency exam.

The path to top 4

Duc has loved medicine since childhood. His mother, a pediatrician, was the person who inspired him to pursue a career in medicine.

His three years at Yen Hoa High School in Hanoi further strengthened his interest in medicine. During Biology classes, he was particularly fascinated by lessons about organs and different parts of the human body.

“I became curious about and interested in the heart and circulatory system while I was still in high school,” Duc said.

When applying to university, Duc listed the Medical Doctor program at Hanoi Medical University as his first choice, but fell just short of the admission score. He was subsequently admitted to his second choice, the Medical Doctor program at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy under Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

Failing to get into his first-choice university did not make Duc feel disappointed. “I have always believed that the environment is only one factor. The most important thing is that I have to keep making an effort,” Duc said.

Throughout his six years of study, he maintained strong academic results thanks to his passion for the profession and his consistent approach to studying. According to Duc, there were particularly demanding periods at university, especially before exams, but he always tried to maintain his health and mental stability, studying regularly every day instead of cramming in the final days. As a result, he graduated with a GPA of 3.68 and an excellent classification.

After graduation, Duc had several options for taking the medical residency entrance exam at institutions in northern Vietnam. He chose Hanoi Medical University because he felt its multiple-choice exam format suited him.

Without having been trained at Hanoi Medical University, Duc began preparing for the residency entrance exam in the middle of his fifth year and continued studying consistently until exam day, while also having to balance his preparation with his university coursework.

Duc divided his time between university studies and residency exam preparation. Whenever possible, he combined knowledge from the two learning processes to reduce the amount of material he had to study twice.

Alongside studying theory, Duc made use of his clinical rotations to learn about patient cases and asked lecturers and senior students about issues he did not understand. Knowledge that was explained and then applied to specific cases helped Duc remember it longer rather than relying on rote memorization. This made his exam preparation less stressful.

When he received his results, Duc was overwhelmed with joy because he had exceeded even his own expectations.

Choosing a field he loves instead of following the crowd

At “Match Day,” when he was among the top candidates with the right to choose a specialty, Duc did not take long to make his decision.

He had been interested in Cardiology since his fourth year of university and decided to stick with it despite his high score, which gave him the option of choosing other “hot” specialties.

“Many people asked me whether, with such a high score, I wanted to switch to specialties that are currently more popular, but I decided to stay with my passion,” Duc said.

Duc's choice of Cardiology surprised many people even more because his mother is a pediatrician. Rather than following his mother's specialty, Duc chose the field he had loved since his university years.

However, Duc's passion for Cardiology goes beyond simply an interest. During university, his group assignments often focused on cardiology. During clinical examinations, Duc said that more than 50 percent of the cases he drew involved cardiovascular topics.

His classmates therefore gave him the nickname “Duc Cardiology.”

Thuy Nga