Celebrating Tet at the hospital

As the Lunar New Year (Tet) arrives and spring returns, it is a time for families to gather around reunion meals and exchange wishes for peace and happiness.

However, in hospitals, doctors and medical staff remain on duty day and night at patients’ bedsides, setting aside their personal moments to care for and protect lives. Here, Tet marks not only the transition from the old to the new year but also a journey of preserving hope.

Sharing joys and hardships with patients

At the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Dong Nai Children’s Hospital, Tet is just as demanding as any regular day. Premature babies and severely ill children need round-the-clock observation of their breathing and vital signs. Nurse Le Thi Tuyet has spent 29 years at the hospital, and for all those years, she has never truly celebrated Tet with her family. Being far from her hometown and parents, she has become used to welcoming the New Year’s Eve by the side of incubators and ventilators.

The leaders of the Dong Nai Provincial Red Cross Society present Tet gifts to disadvantaged pediatric patients undergoing treatment at Dong Nai Children’s Hospital. Photo: Hanh Dung

Tuyet shared that during Tet, the number of hospitalized children often increases, most of them serious cases, leaving medical staff no room to let their guard down. It is difficult to describe Tet a joyful time here, but we always encourage one another for the sake of our patients so that the children have better chances of recovery. For her and many colleagues, the greatest New Year joy is not fireworks or festive meals, but seeing a child overcome a critical stage and return home to their parents’ embrace.

Meanwhile, at the Emergency Department of Dong Nai General Hospital, Tet brings even greater urgency. The department handles an average of 150–200 emergency cases each day. The number often rises during the holidays due to traffic accidents and domestic incidents.

Thi Tuyet Nhung, Head Nurse of the Emergency Department of Dong Nai General Hospital, said that although everyone wishes to celebrate New Year’s Eve with their families, choosing the medical profession means accepting responsibility for patients. Medical staff remain on standby around the clock, with additional personnel arranged to respond to unexpected situations.

Doctor Nguyen Anh Tuan from the Endocrinology Department of Dong Nai General Hospital shared that during his six years at the hospital, he has been on Tet duty every year. For him, the greatest joy comes when patients recover and are discharged in time to celebrate Tet with their families.

While caring for a relative at the Endocrinology Department of Dong Nai General Hospital, Pham Van Tuan (residing in Tan Trieu Ward, Dong Nai Province) said that no one wants to spend Tet in a hospital, but treatment is necessary when illness occurs. During Tet, patients and families simply hope for attentive care and encouragement from medical staff to help them recover and return home sooner.

Ensuring everyone has a Tet celebration

Understanding the emotions of patients who must remain hospitalized during the New Year, many hospitals across the province organize warm Tet activities. Patients in stable condition may be discharged early to return home, while those who must stay receive Tet gifts, lucky money, traditional cakes, and even New Year’s Eve celebrations within the hospital. Though modest in material value, these gestures carry significant emotional support.

Tet in hospitals passes quietly, without dazzling fireworks, measured instead by patients’ recovery, smiles after critical moments, and reunions when patients are finally discharged. It is the silent dedication of doctors and medical staff that creates a warm spring within the hospital corridors, where life is always the top priority.

Ha Thi Hoan (residing in Phuoc Tan Ward), whose child has been treated for 10 years at the Intensive Care and Toxicology Department of Dong Nai Children’s Hospital, expressed deep gratitude for the support from both the hospital and the community. Each year, her child receives Tet gifts and lucky money, bringing encouragement during difficult times. Her family is deeply grateful to the medical staff and benefactors who have supported the child.

To bring Tet atmosphere into the hospital, apricot and peach blossoms are placed in duty rooms, along with spring greeting cards hung outside patient wards. Simple New Year wishes exchanged between doctors and patients help ease both the pain of illness and the homesickness felt by medical staff.

For those wearing white coats, celebrating Tet with patients is not only a professional duty but also a calling from the heart. They set aside their personal joys to uphold their medical oaths and live up to the teaching that “A doctor must be like a gentle mother”.

By Hanh Dung – Translated by Minh Hong, Thu Ha