Social Work Visit 10/28-10/31 2020 Can Tho and HCMC
Huong Hoang, MSW, LCSW and Minh Ha Nguyen, MSW, LCSW represented the Social Work (SW) team in Vietnam in the Fall of 2019. Minh Ha indicated that “ it was an honor and pleasure” to meet so many hospital and university representatives during their brief visit. “From the directors, doctors, nurses and other staff, everyone impressed us with their dedication to serve and strong commitment to Social Work.”
They visited General Hospital of Can Tho, Can Tho Cardio Vascular Hospital, Can Tho Oncology Hospital, Can Tho Medical College, and sat in on classes conducted by Nguyen thi Ngoc, professor of SW at Duc Thang University Saigon and Dr. Vo thi Hoang Yen, PhD, Social Work and Social Policy, Disability and Research Center on 2 separate occasions.
Minh Ha and Huong returned to the US better prepared to understand the education desires of the teams they met with in the area of professional SW practice. All of the SW staff that they met with expressed a strong interest in being trained in complex issues, in learning basic interviewing skills, in conducting accurate assessments, case management, and crisis intervention.
It is our teams goal to be respectful and sensitive to the social cultural environment in which they work that may be different from our own educational experience. We are hopeful that strong and on-going cooperation with local experts will greatly enhance our ability to develop a sound social work program. Minh Ha observed after visiting SW professionals in Saigon that they are a potential on-going resource for local training, and strengthen our effectiveness in developing SW programs in Can Tho.
