TET Lunar New Year Message
February 5, 2019
Dear Friends of MEET and MEET-UK,
Today is the beginning of TET, the celebration of the Lunar New Year, and a very important time in Vietnamese culture. It seemed to me the ideal time to communicate our gratitude for the multiple successes of 2018, and extend my wishes on behalf of our team for continued good health, happiness, and advancement of Medical Education and Pediatric Surgeries in 2019.
MEET has grown considerably since our founding, and fortunately each trip has brought returning, as well as new talented and skilled professionals to exchange knowledge and expertise with our global partners.
Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy (CTUMP) has been our foundation. Their leadership and continued sponsorship of our teams has resulted in lasting educational exchanges with faculty and students, as well as encouragement to extend outside their institution to other community hospitals and schools with which they align. We have relied on their loyalty and vision. Although many of us who have been associated over the years with CTUMP were saddened by the departure of Dr. Tam Nguyen, MD as Vice Rector, we were delighted she remains Dean of Public Health, and that the new CTUMP leadership is a familiar and trusted colleague.
In 2018, MEET brought professionals in Psychiatry, Psychology, Social Work, Nursing and Midwifery, Nutrition, OB/GYN, Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Family Medicine, Palliative Care, Anesthesiology, ENT practice, Dentistry, Pediatrics, Neurology, English Language, and although our full Pediatric Surgery Delegation did not participate in 2018, several surgeons, Anesthesiologists, and Nurses returned from the United Kingdom for 72 hours to check in on their patients from November 2017. I have a considerable amount of respect for their commitment and dedication to their professions, and as our collaborators. I am confident our team shares this sentiment.
MEET has received several very generous donations in 2018 that will allow us to continue our work, and pay for expenses necessary outside those our Volunteers incur. MEET though relies on our professional Volunteers to donate their time and resources to be part of this endeavor. Additionally, several of our Volunteers have personally sponsored several of our Vietnamese colleagues to learn in other global health care settings. These experiences can be life transforming and memorable for all who participate.
I hope that MEET, MEET-UK and all of our friends in Vietnam continue to enjoy each others wisdom and experience in the years to come, and collectively care for those who trust us to teach and care for them.
I wish everyone abundance, good health, and happiness in the Year of the Pig.
Board President MEET
