Committed to excellence in clinical care, scientific discovery, and the education of future healthcare leaders, Weill Cornell Medicine is an internationally renowned institution that stands out in many disciplines. Since 1993, WCM faculty have been engaged in the OMI program by teaching thousands of young and dedicated doctors from underserved parts of the world in different areas of adult medicine.
This week, the Open Medical Institute presented a four-day seminar in Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pulmonology at the VinUniversity campus in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Established in 2019 by the Vingroup, the largest private conglomerate in Vietnam, VinUniversity is a private, not-for-profit university. It has built strategic collaborations with Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania — a choice that matches the OMI’s academic anchors and speaks for the institution’s commitment to excellence in research and teaching.
Dr. Augustine M.K Choi, Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean Emeritus of Weill Cornell Medicine, and Dr. Hugh C. Hemmings, Jr., Joseph F. Artusio Jr. Professor and Chair of Anesthesiology, Professor of Pharmacology, and Senior Associate Dean for Research at Weill Cornell Medicine, and Anesthesiologist-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, teamed up and provided the academic leadership for the combined course.
30 fellows from Laos, Nepal, the Philippines, and all across Vietnam gathered at VinUniversity to learn from six distinguished specialists. The seminar allowed for intense interaction with attendees through lectures, discussions, case presentations, and a round table. Topics discussed throughout the week included sepsis (Dr. Augustine M.K. Choi), respiratory infections, COPD, interstitial lung diseases (Dr. Robert J. Kaner), mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure, sepsis resuscitation and adjunctive therapies, major clinical trials in critical care (Dr. Edward J. Schenck), thoracic anesthesia (Dr. Hugh C. Hemmings, Jr.), intraoperative use of vasopressors and inotropes, perioperative bleeding and patient blood management, anesthesia for abdominal transplant (Dr. Christine Lennon), perioperative pacemaker and ICD management, venoarterial and venovenous ECMO, and new generations of cardiac output monitoring devices (Dr. Liang Shen).
During a multi-station simulation training, which focused on airway management, cardiac arrest, and transthoracic echo, participants had the unique opportunity to enhance their practical skills. The training took place at the VinUni Medical Simulation Center and was chaperoned by Ms. Tran Thuy Duong, who provided excellent guidance and support.
Augustine M.K. Choi, MD
OMI Course Director
The OMI is a global leader in promoting the most updated continuing medical education for physicians worldwide. Maintaining the longstanding impact the OMI seminars have had in Salzburg and Mexico City, Weill Cornell Medicine faculty members are proud to participate in the inaugural OMI Vietnam courses. This program, held in Hanoi, has been amazingly successful, as we have enjoyed our interactive seminar with young colleagues from Southeast Asia. We are looking forward to continued success!
Liang Shen, MD, MPH
OMI Faculty
The astute questions posed by our fellows and their focused engagement with the course topics made this week such a pleasure. The OMI seminar has been a unique opportunity to hear from their experiences, reinforcing the idea that we often share similar struggles and successes when taking care of patients across the world.
Concluding this seminar, we look back on two exciting and fruitful weeks in Hanoi. It is very rewarding to hear how much participants have learned in such a short time. Thanks to our faculty, fellows now have the knowledge and self-confidence necessary to make changes in their practices.
We would like to thank VinUniversity, especially Dr. Le Mai Lan, Vice Chairwoman of Vingroup JSC and President of the University Council, Dr. Le Cu Linh, Interim Dean at the College of Health Sciences, and Dr. Le Van Phuoc, Vice Dean of Clinical Education at the College of Health Sciences, for hosting the first OMI Vietnam seminar and providing superb facilities for teaching, learning, and interacting. A special thanks goes to Ms. Luu Thu Huong, Medical Simulation Centre Manager and External Engagement Lead, and her team who spent many months coordinating this course with us!
Having taken the first important step for expansion in Southeast Asia, the OMI will return to Vietnam in November to run a global health seminar in collaboration with the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City. We would like to thank all course directors, faculty members, fellows, and local facilitators for making this program roll-out happen. In the years to come, we will continue to improve healthcare globally. See you again soon, Vietnam!
