Dr Lê Ngọc An (holding flowers) and his students at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Photo courtesy of An

HÀ NỘI — Dr Lê Ngọc An, born in 1990, rejected many job offers in Switzerland to return to Việt Nam to become a lecturer and researcher in community healthcare.

Being a lecturer at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy under Việt Nam National University, Hà Nội, An said he has always been passionate about medicine and teaching. During 12 years of studying and researching abroad, he always knew he wanted to return home soon to impart the knowledge and inspiration about the pharmaceutical industry that he had learned to generations of students in his homeland.

After graduating from Hà Nội University of Pharmacy, he received a scholarship to study in Europe.

In 2020, he completed his research and received a doctorate degree from the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

During his time there, he had acquired a lot of knowledge. “The more I learn new things, the more I long for the idea of ​​how to let future generations also access this knowledge soon, to contribute to society, to help improve the health and quality of life of Vietnamese people,” he told the Voice of Vietnam.

“At the time I decided to return home, in Switzerland there were also job opportunities with high salaries and benefits. Many friends and relatives advised me to stay and work to do better research and development.

“But I personally think that if you really try hard, stay passionate, and want to contribute to society, there will always be opportunities anywhere,” said Dr An.

Returning to Việt Nam and then accepting an invitation to become a lecturer at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, the young doctor admitted that at first it was quite difficult to get used to the new working environment and working style at State agencies.

Although he had studied and researched in a professional environment in Switzerland, applying what he had learned to the context in Việt Nam requires more flexibility and creativity.

Turning social networks into effective educational tools

As a young lecturer, who understands the power of digital platforms and social networks, An learned to make videos to share knowledge on overall healthcare, mental health and nutrition on TikTok with the desire to turn this platform into a modern educational tool.

This has become a channel to convey his knowledge to more medical students and served as a useful source of information to help the community understand and take better care of their health.

“A few years ago, I accidentally watched health videos on social networks, but what pained me the most and is also the biggest mistake of many Vietnamese people is to believe in inaccurate information, even unscientific trends online. Following inaccurate information might result in serious health consequences,” he said.

Thanks to his simple, humorous yet informative delivery, Dr An's videos have reached millions of views, becoming a reliable source of reference for many students and the community.

Responding to many others’ questions on whether creating content makes him lose concentration on teaching, he said: "Being a teacher and a content creator are two serious jobs. I always make sure that my professional work is not affected and I still achieve the best results.

“Content creation has helped me improve my knowledge transfer skills, thereby improving my teaching methods. In return, the in-depth medical knowledge updated during the teaching process is also a source of inspiration to create quality, useful videos for the community,” he added.

An said he aims to continue to improve his expertise and teaching methods, and conduct research to bring the latest and most useful knowledge to students, while continuing to spread useful health science knowledge to the community. VNS