Student Spotlight: Exploring Vietnamese Traditional Medicine in Modern Ho Chi Minh City with Marissa Roundtree '28

My project explores the cultural and historical significance of Vietnamese Traditional Medicine (VTM) in modern Ho Chi Minh City. VTM has evolved through centuries and encompasses two distinct subsets of practice: Northern VTM and Southern VTM. Northern VTM is characterized by Traditional Chinese Medicine influences; however, Southern VTM is derived from the unique ecological landscape of Vietnam, drawing from the rich herbology and biodiversity native to the Southern region. 

This project matters because it examines how Vietnamese Traditional Medicine coexists and integrates with modern medicine within the Vietnamese healthcare system, providing patients with holistic and culturally sensitive care options. While this approach is less common in Western healthcare systems, this project emphasizes the potential for practices like VTM in all medical spaces to ensure patients have access to holistic and culturally sensitive care. Published as a digital blog, my project aims to (1) bring exposure to Vietnamese Traditional Medicine and (2) investigate how it has evolved and integrated with modern medicine in 21st-century Vietnam.

My Vietnamese Language professor, Dr. Quang Van (Thầy Quang), was instrumental in shaping this project. Thầy Quang encouraged our class to apply to the MacMillan Council on Southeast Asia Studies grant, inspiring us with examples of previous student projects. Amazed by how students could turn their passionate project into a reality, I applied to the CSEAS Grant to fund my investigation of Vietnamese Traditional Medicine. 

Yale resources, including the CSEAS grant, Saybrook Richter Summer Fellowship, and Saybrook College Research Fellowship, were crucial to funding this project. With financial support, I was able to travel across Ho Chi Minh City to delve deeper into Vietnamese Traditional Medicine and visit various museums, temples, and give my appreciation to my interviewees. I am very grateful for these resources and their support of this project. 

Student mentors who also previously participated in an experience funded by CSEAS were also instrumental in designing this project. Advice from upperclassmen on creating a detailed proposal and budget helped me shape a feasible, comprehensive project on Vietnamese Traditional Medicine. 

My Vietnamese background has had an immense impact on my interest in Vietnamese Traditional Medicine and my approach to this project. Growing up biracial in the United States, I grew up in a household shaped by both Vietnamese and African American cultures. This dual perspective directly influences the way I see medicine. I was exposed to both Western medical clinics and Vietnamese Traditional Medicine remedies crafted by my grandmother.

Through exploratory projects in high school, I also engaged with scientific literature about the integration of traditional and Western medicine practices in Vietnam. These studies highlighted the emergence of holistic treatment options that could serve multicultural patient populations. 

This perspective ultimately guided my approach to the project. I chose to focus on the history of VTM as an independent practice and its evolution to integrate alongside Western medicine. By interviewing traditional medicine practitioners, I aimed to highlight the scientific basis supporting the efficacy of these practices. In addition, through conversations with local natives and field observations in Vietnam, I sought to illustrate how traditional and modern medicine practices coexist in everyday life in Vietnam.

The most significant theme was how traditional medicine is often misunderstood in the contemporary era. Historically, as a theory-based practice, Vietnamese traditional medicine used to be viewed as less “respected” than a field grounded in modern medical technology. However, my conversations challenged this perception. 

For example, Dr. Nguyễn Thành Triết, Ph.D., emphasized that Vietnamese Traditional Medicine is highly complex, characterized by natural ingredients derived from Vietnam’s rich biodiversity and increasingly evidenced by pharmacological research and standardized quality control, reinforcing the validity of centuries-old theories. 

Additionally, traditional medicine practitioners undergo the same foundational medical training as other specialties, focusing on traditional medicine only after completing a general medicine education. This highlights that the field is not only rooted in tradition but also integrated with modern medical knowledge. 

My main takeaway is that Vietnamese traditional medicine should not be directly compared to Western modern medicine. Each practice is rooted in distinct foundations. Yet, the greater value lies in synthesizing and integrating traditional and modern medicine practices. This intersection can lead to more holistic and innovative medical treatment options for patients. For example, in my interview with Dr. Lê Thị Tường Vân, MD, MS, Head of the Department of Traditional Medicine at An Bình Hospital, I learned about electroacupuncture, which combines traditional acupuncture with modern medical technology, and serves as a treatment option for recovering stroke patients. 

I chose to present my research as a digital blog platform to make my project findings more accessible to a general public audience. If I had written a traditional paper, my work would have been limited to the fellowship committee and an academic audience. In contrast, a digital blog allowed me to share my findings with the entire world, including any readers interested in Vietnamese traditional medicine, without a formal background in the field. The blog format also brought greater flexibility to integrate media and interview content. In each article, I could seamlessly embed various images of VTM from field observations. In addition, I could spotlight each interviewee with their own article, allowing readers to digest my findings based on themes most interesting and engaging to them. 

Ultimately, my digital blog platform served to not only present my findings but also tell a more accessible and engaging reflection on Vietnamese Traditional Medicine. 

I hope anyone curious about Vietnamese Traditional medicine will engage with my website. Through my articles, I hope all readers take away that VTM is both complex and rooted in centuries of healing practices. This practice has maintained its historical and cultural significance through seamless integration with modern medical practices, providing patients with holistic care options and increasing the autonomy patients have over their own medical treatment. For readers from countries where this integration is common, I hope my work highlights its potential and motivates further advocacy for more inclusive, integrative approaches to medicine in healthcare. 

One finding that changed how I think about traditional medicine was an insight from Dr. Nguyễn Thị Bay, MD, Ph.D., where she emphasized the power of integration between Traditional Vietnamese Medicine and Western medicine, which relies on mutual understanding between both practices. For example, modern medicine physicians must realize the value of traditional practices, and traditional medicine physicians must define the scope of their practice. 

The greatest challenge I encountered during this project was the language barrier. While many traditional medicine practitioners I met spoke English, some did not. I entered the program with intermediate language proficiency, and consequently, I had a limited understanding of advanced medical terminology. To circumvent this obstacle, I tried several solutions. Before the interview, I explained my language situation to my interviewees, asking for permission to record and translate our conversations. In person, I utilized two modes of translation. First, I used the conversation feature on Google Translate, allowing me to stay present and guide the immediate conversation. Second, to capture their exact words, I also utilized recordings to transcribe the audio in Vietnamese and translate, cross-comparing translations to perfect accuracy. Lastly, to avoid any misinterpretations caused by translation, I also provided a copy of my biographical articles to confirm with interviewees before publishing. Ultimately, through trial and error, I worked to overcome the language barrier and capture the stories of my interviewees to the best of my ability.

This project has further encouraged me to enter the field of medicine with a global perspective. Whether working as a researcher in the laboratory or caring for patients as a physician, I aspire to continue investigating the potential to integrate traditional medicine practices like VTM with modern medicine. In the meantime, I plan to enroll in global health courses that focus on the evolution of traditional medicine practices across the world.