Amy in Vietnam: Working at Ho Chih Minh City Pediatric Hospital #1

It's great to be back at Pediatric Hospital #1 in Ho Chi Minh City. This is a huge (1800 beds) hospital with a large outpatient clinic (where we're based). We've worked with two different heads of the department, Yen and Giao, and they are knowledgeable and are continually seeking new ways to push their staff. This year, we've noticed more therapists being asked to give us complete case presentations in English and to have specific treatment goals and questions for us related to each patient--this all adds up to intense discussions and demonstrations that include the Vietnamese therapist, patient's family, many onlookers from other hospitals and teaching institutions, and us-- we're usually wiped out by the end of the day!

This met us when we entered the outpatient clinic-- so nice!

ready to roll, looking very Amish for some reason

sometimes kids are happy to see us, sometimes not so much

those glasses!

On the speech pathology side, a group in Australia is now in their 3rd year of a post-baccalaureate "speech therapy certificate" training program, based in Ho Chi Minh City, but training the Vietnamese equivalent of SLP's from all over the country. It's a 2-year course, and they have graduated 18 students so far. All the therapists we meet at the hospitals have all done a (somewhat basic) "physiotherapy" university course, and then they are physiotherapists.

It is only once they start working at the hospitals that they begin to make decisions about their particular interests and strengths... gradually, some physiotherapists start gravitating to making lots of casts and splints, others to upper extremity function, and some (the precious few) start to pursue their interest in working with kids with communication issues, including Autism, cognitive impairments, learning disabilities, CP and other congenital issues, hearing impairments (Vietnam recently started doing cochlear implants, although there are hardly any people trained in the crucial next step of rehab post-implant surgery!), and anything and everything else.

For the first 2 days this trip, the physiotherapists most interested in speech-language pathology were attending a training from an Auditory-Verbal project, so I did a lot of photographing and supplemental education with the first round of patients, grouped into the general category of "Hypotonia" (which affects speech development quite a bit!).

The department frequently gives designs for equipment to area carpenters, and they cook up some great stuff!

We both did a lot of work and parent counseling for this little girl with Down Syndrome,
as she has feeding problems as well as hypotonia.

Leanna (in blue) is an SLP supervisor from Australia who is providing clinical supervision
for 2 Vietnamese "speech therapists in training" at the hospital

This little girl has SMA, but it seems to be progressing slowly at this point.

It was great to see a baby with Down Syndrome who was so interested in moving around!

Hospital lunch that beats Au Bon Pain anyday-- shrimp pounded around sugar cane, then grilled

Egg drop soup with corn, crab, etc

These are the cloth-bound, hand-written patient files for the outpatient clinic.

One of the courtyards of the Pediatric Hospital

Talking about feeding with the mother and therapist of this boy with Down Syndrome,
also talking about imitation's role in language development (and making faces)

One of the many attractions in the Pediatric Hospital's courtyards

On Friday night, we met back up with the rest of the team who had remained in Can Tho for more surgeries and post-op's. They were all heading out of Vietnam the next morning, so we had an early dinner. It was great to see everyone again!