27 February 2019 | 

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to specialize in pulmonary and critical care medicine? Meet Nguyen Van Nhom, M.D., is a critical care medicine intensivist at City International Hospital in the intensive care unit, who is very active in his community, serving as the deputy head of intensive care unit. Check out his insights to help determine life in pulmonary and critical care medicine.

• “Healthcare, sounds like a good idea!" Dr. Nhom, Deputy Head of Intensive Care Unit

• Specialty: Pulmonary and critical care medicine.

• Practice setting: Hospital-based academic health center.

• Employment type: Hospital.

• Years in practice: 15

Dr. Nhom's Regular visits to each patient room to address patient and family members’ concerns.

Dr. Nhom’s Story: Starting high school, my vision for a better life had planted in me a vision to become a doctor. Though a good student in high school, I was not among those who excelled. Still my dream drove me. I became quite serious academically near the end of my junior year. Having already accumulated almost all the class credits needed to graduate, I received excellent marks and had been accepted to Ho Chi Minh University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

I have had such beautiful memories as a medical student. Everything was just so new when I first got introduced to my very first patient, first night on duty in my medical school.... my first human anatomy.... “I am talking about my first year of 1st year dissection of fresh un-embalmed voluntarily-donated human bodies for students to experience difficulty in grasping the subject with embalmed bodies because of changed color and texture of organs, hardening of tissues, irritating smell of formaldehyde, and slow pace of dissection. And while I never expected to specialize in critical care, as a resident rotating in the ICU, I found himself intrigued by the nature of the work, taking care of patients who were very sick and often on the precipice of death. I was helping their families answer very similar existential questions...

The most challenging and rewarding aspects of pulmonary and critical care medicine, Dr. Nhom shared: As a junior doctor in the intensive care unit seeing a lot of people die—almost daily that can get difficult. Because if you are doing it right, you are connecting with those patients and families and there is a little bit of grief that accompanies every death. Adjusting to that is hard for everyone. Those who say otherwise are not being honest with themselves. I have struggled with anxiety and depression a bit, and getting to know that part of myself, admit that I needed help, and showing that vulnerable part of myself to my colleagues and loved ones has been important and formative for me. Better communication between the medical team and families can make a difference.

Why pursuing this specialty: When patients are discharged from the intensive care unit it’s great news for everyone. That’s why I love my job and my specialty. The most rewarding aspects for me are the daily connections and relationships—with patients, family members, students, respiratory therapists, nurse practitioners, etc. It is an awesome responsibility to be present for difficult decisions and to be trusted with shepherding a family through a really tough time. My well-being is dictated by these relationships and I have gravitated toward academic pursuits that have allowed me to cultivate the relational aspects of my profession.”

“At City International Hospital, there was room for improvement,” addresses Dr. Nhom: When I first arrived as a new physician in CIH’s ICU, there was already a strong culture of commitment to family-centered care, where the attending doctor or nurse manager would make regular afternoon visits to each patient room to address family members’ concerns.. I found support for my goal which is to provide additional, regular opportunities for families to speak to doctors. CIH’s the largest professional organization for critical care clinicians, which had been looking for new and effective methods for providing care to critically ill and injured patients and their families.

More about Dr. Nguyen Van Nhom, critical care medicine intensivist at City International Hospital 's intensive care unit

Staff News Writer Minh Tâm