Some people are born to devote themselves to the people; their entire lives become a diary written through sleepless nights at patients’ bedsides, drops of sweat silently falling, and the smiles of countless lives brought back to health. In the tireless flow of Vietnam’s healthcare sector, when Endocrinology and Diabetology are mentioned, people remember not only a towering figure of intellect and professional expertise, but also hold in high regard a warm heart and a noble character embodied by Associate Professor, PhD, MD Trần Thị Thanh Hóa – Former Deputy Director of the National Hospital of Endocrinology.
No matter how long an article may be, it can hardly encapsulate more than 30 years of youth and dedication that a physician has left behind in hospital corridors. Yet every word written today is like a fragrant flower of gratitude, offered to a female doctor whose skilled hands and compassionate heart have brought hope and healing to so many patients.
Assoc. Prof., PhD, MD Tran Thi Thanh Hoa (second from left) with colleagues at the African Obesity Conference held in Türkiye, May 2026.
From a studious girl from Central Vietnam to a calling to heal and save lives
Born in Đức Thọ, Hà Tĩnh - a land renowned for its tradition of learning, blessed by the clear and gentle La River - Dr. Trần Thị Thanh Hóa inherited the resilient, hardworking spirit of the people of Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh. Growing up in a family with a long tradition in medicine, her childhood was closely associated with the scent of antiseptic and deeply human stories of saving lives. At a time when business and commerce were increasingly regarded as attractive career paths, while many of her peers chose dynamic careers in economics and business, the academically gifted schoolgirl who excelled in Biology chose instead to entrust her future to the prestigious Hanoi Medical University.
It was not an easy path for anyone who shied away from hardship or demanding work. From her third year at university, while many young women in their twenties could still devote themselves leisurely to lecture halls and textbooks, student Trần Thị Thanh Hóa had already experienced long, sleepless nights on emergency duty (during her clinical rotations at the hospital). There were times when she had to witness the fragile boundary between life and death and hear the heartbreaking cries of patients’ family members. Such experiences inevitably weighed heavily on the young medical student, filling her heart with profound concern and contemplation. Yet what was most precious at that time was that a flame of determination had already begun to burn within her: “I must study hard, I must become an excellent doctor, so that I can fight to bring life back to my people.”
After graduating, she was assigned to work at the National Hospital of Endocrinology. It was here that a long journey began - a journey filled with distinction and professional achievement, but also marked by no shortage of challenges and turning points for one of the enduring figures of Vietnam’s Endocrinology specialty.
Dr. Tran Thi Thanh Hoa providing free medical examinations to local residents in Sin Ho, Lai Chau Province.
The silent warrior on the front lines of endocrinology and emergency medicine
Endocrinology, particularly diabetes mellitus and metabolic disorders, is a long and persistent battle. Patients with endocrine diseases often struggle with fatigue and chronic conditions that accompany them throughout their lives, along with a range of potentially serious complications affecting the heart, kidneys, eyes and blood vessels. Faced with such patients, Associate Professor, PhD, MD Trần Thị Thanh Hóa has never relied solely on her medical expertise to treat the physical illness; she has also drawn upon compassion and understanding to heal the emotional and psychological burden that illness can bring. No one wishes for hardship, yet perhaps it is precisely the challenges encountered in the medical profession that have enabled a dedicated physician to accumulate invaluable experience throughout her journey of caring for patients and saving lives.
Over the course of her career, she has held numerous positions, beginning as a physician in a modest outpatient clinic and a ward-based attending physician, before becoming Head of the Department of Emergency Medicine and later Deputy Director of the hospital in charge of professional and clinical affairs. Throughout these stages, Dr. Trần Thị Thanh Hóa has consistently been the one to “take the lead and shoulder the responsibility”. The Emergency Department is traditionally one of the hospital’s most demanding clinical areas, where time is measured in seconds and pressure can weigh heavily with every breath. It was there that colleagues and patients would often see a petite yet remarkably decisive physician, with sharp and focused eyes, calmly directing younger doctors and medical staff as they managed critically ill patients, one emergency case after another.
Countless patients who arrived in deep coma due to hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state or diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) - a life-threatening acute complication of diabetes mellitus - seemingly on the brink of death, were brought back from the threshold of mortality through the determined efforts of Dr. Hóa and her colleagues. Patients affectionately called her “Ms. Hóa of Endocrinology” or “the kind mother of the Emergency Department”. To her, no patient should ever be left behind. Whether an elderly person living alone or a patient from an impoverished, remote area, once they entered her emergency room, they received the same level of fairness, dedication, and attentive care.
Dr. Tran Thi Thanh Hoa at the National Scientific Conference (August 2026)
A shining example of lifelong learning and scientific research
Her contribution extended far beyond clinical practice at the national referral level. As a scientist and an Associate Professor and PhD, Dr. Trần Thị Thanh Hóa has always been deeply concerned with strengthening the capacity of healthcare services at the grassroots level. She understands that when lower-level healthcare facilities are equipped with stronger professional capabilities, people in disadvantaged communities are less likely to have to travel all the way to the capital for treatment, thereby reducing both financial costs and the physical burden of seeking medical care.
For this reason, for many years, the Deputy Director of the National Hospital of Endocrinology could often be found making demanding field trips under Project 1816 of the Ministry of Health. She traveled to provincial hospitals in Hà Tĩnh, Phú Thọ, Thanh Hóa and other localities - not merely to attend formal meetings, but to go directly into hospital wards and provide hands-on clinical guidance to physicians and healthcare professionals at the grassroots level. She patiently instructed them in diagnosing diabetic foot complications, adjusting insulin doses, performing thyroid ultrasonography and other essential aspects of endocrine clinical practice. These invaluable clinical lessons were imparted with the patience of a teacher and the warmth of a senior colleague guiding those who came after her.
Within the medical community, she has also been regarded as a strong example of a commitment to lifelong learning and scientific research. Her studies on gestational diabetes mellitus and the management of endocrine complications have provided valuable references for many young physicians. The research projects of Associate Professor Trần Thị Thanh Hóa have consistently remained closely connected to clinical practice, focusing on optimizing treatment, early detection and reducing complications among patients with endocrine disorders. Among her notable areas of scientific research are studies on gestational diabetes mellitus; improved approaches to the treatment of diabetic foot complications; evaluation of the effectiveness of newer medications and individualized treatment and the integration of traditional medicine with modern medicine, among others.
Her depth of specialized knowledge, professional competence and reputation have continued to earn her invitations even after retirement to participate in medical workshops, professional conferences and specialized seminars. For her, such invitations are not merely a recognition of her professional journey but also a source of genuine joy and fulfillment.
Young physician Dinh Trung Hoa has become a colleague of his mother, Associate Professor, PhD, MD Tran Thi Thanh Hoa.
The Simple and Profound Beauty Behind the White Coat
Behind the prestigious titles, behind her roles as a healthcare administrator and a leading specialist in her field, Associate Professor, PhD, MD Trần Thị Thanh Hóa is, in her everyday life, an extraordinarily simple and down-to-earth woman. She loves flowers and beauty and has always preserved a refined and serene spirit amid the intense pressures of the medical profession. The appreciation patients have for her comes not only from the effectiveness of her prescriptions but also from the reassuring way she holds their hands when they are anxious and from her gentle words of encouragement when they are discouraged. She once shared that the greatest reward for a physician is not medals or honors, but the day they see their patients regain their health, walk out on their own two feet and smile as they say goodbye to their doctor on the way home.
After more than three decades devoted to the front lines of healthcare, with her hair now touched by the passing years and even after retirement, she has never taken a day off from her journey of healing and saving lives. Stepping away from hospital management, the female physician has chosen to remain closely connected to the white coat, continuing to devote herself to clinical consultations and bringing hope to thousands of patients with diabetes mellitus and endocrine disorders across the country.
For Associate Professor Trần Thị Thanh Hóa, the greatest happiness in life is seeing the healthy smile of a patient. Rather than choosing a life of leisure after retirement, she continues to arrive regularly at her clinic early each morning. Every anxious look in a patient’s eyes and every fluctuating blood glucose reading in economically disadvantaged patients remain matters that weigh deeply on Dr. Hóa’s heart. Her profound respect for the medical profession is also evident in the way she carefully turns the pages of each medical record, patiently listens to patients and explains every detail until they understand their condition and no longer feel overwhelmed by the chronic disease that has become a part of their lives.
Patients who seek her care - from hardworking people in remote rural communities to those who have sought treatment in many different places - all experience a remarkable sense of warmth. They recognize that she treats them not only with the sharp clinical judgment of a leading specialist, but also with the deep empathy of a mother, an older sister or a younger sister. Many patients have shared that simply having Dr. Hóa hold their hands and speak to them in her gentle, reassuring voice is enough to make their anxiety and the burden of illness feel half as heavy. There are countless deeply moving memories accumulated throughout her years in medicine. One of the memories that remains most deeply etched in the mind of this female physician from Hà Tĩnh is the long nights she spent on emergency duty at the National Hospital of Endocrinology.
On one occasion, she received an elderly patient who was admitted in a deep coma caused by diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in the setting of severe diabetes mellitus with an extremely guarded prognosis. At that fragile boundary between life and death, the Head of the Emergency Department at the time stayed awake throughout the night at the patient’s bedside. She continuously monitored the patient’s blood glucose levels, carefully adjusted the rate of intravenous insulin infusion and patiently provided resuscitative care to the elderly patient. Dr. Hóa’s tireless perseverance eventually produced what seemed like a miracle: just as dawn began to break, the patient slowly opened his eyes and regained consciousness. The tears of happiness shed by the patient’s family and the elderly man’s grateful handshake became priceless gifts that continued to nourish the flame of her dedication to medicine throughout the years…
In gratitude for a lifetime of dedication
“As the old bamboo withers, new shoots emerge”. Today, the National Hospital of Endocrinology has grown considerably, becoming far more spacious and modern than it once was. Yet the foundation stones, the drops of sweat and the precious years of youth devoted by earlier generations of physicians such as Associate Professor, PhD, MD Trần Thị Thanh Hóa will forever remain an invaluable part of the hospital’s heritage. We offer our deepest gratitude to the hospital’s generations of physicians and healthcare professionals and to the female doctor who devoted an entire lifetime to serving others, like the La River flowing gently through her native Hà Tĩnh, bringing coolness and relief to lives weathering life’s storms.
Thank you for the hands that have saved countless lives. Thank you for the compassionate heart that has continued to shine beneath the white coat of a physician. May she always enjoy good health and peace, and may she remain a beacon of warmth and inspiration for generations of physicians to come as they continue along the noble path of healing, saving lives, and serving humanity./.
DANG XUAN LONG
