At 43 years old, Tien Vu, aka Vu Thi Tien, looks much younger than her age. The U.S. associate professor said she always keeps in mind that she is of Vietnamese origin.

As part of a program organized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tien returned to Vietnam for the first time in 24 years after leaving her homeland.

That was in 1999, when the 26-year-old medical student saw her homeland first-hand, realizing that she had to do something for the country where people still lived in difficult situations and locals, including her relatives, had neither the professional experience nor the money to provide medical treatment.

Studying at a medical school was not easy, especially for a girl. However, Tien had always wished to become a doctor.

“Suffering a severe burn in Vietnam led me to undergo multiple surgeries in the U.S. Every time I woke up from an operation, I saw the doctor’s white coat. That was why I wanted to be a pediatrician – to help other children,” she said.

It took over 14 years of study for Tien to make her dream come true. The pediatrician spent four years at university, four years at medical school, three years studying pediatrics, and three years learning pediatric emergency care.

Tien shared some of her future plans with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, including the goal of learning how to cure traffic accident-related spine injuries in children – a common problem in the U.S.

She also wishes to work with pediatricians in Vietnam to update them on the latest medical trends, she added.

“[Pediatricians in Vietnam] are all talented, but they lack proper medical equipment and updated medical know-how compared to doctors in the U.S.,” Tien explained.

Despite her busy schedule, Tien always manages to attend the Vietnam-U.S. pediatric conference. Last year’s event was held in Hanoi in November.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Tien Dung, former head of the pediatric department at Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital, Tien often considers the applicability of any medical knowledge before suggesting it to local doctors.

Her family includes six children who all left their motherland 40 years ago.

Their parents worked hard to earn a living and had no time to teach them to speak Vietnamese.

Tien said although they cannot speak their mother tongue fluently, their names always remind them of their heritage.

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