Though a doctor in her native Vietnam, Thuy Ho, was unable to practice medicine upon arriving in the United States in 2001. Thuy is currently a second-year student in the physicians assistant program at Union College.
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| Though a doctor in her native Vietnam, Thuy Ho, was unable to practice medicine upon arriving in the United States in 2001. Thuy is currently a second-year student in the physicians assistant program at Union College. (GWYNETH ROBERTS / Lincoln Journal Star) |
Two young children, graduate classes and a home to maintain leave little time for Thuy Ho to study.
Typically, she studies after her children go to bed, often staying up late or waking up early to cram for medical exams.
"Sometimes it's very hard," the 38-year-old Lincoln woman said.
Since she was a child growing up in Vietnam, where her father was a pharmacist and where she later was a practicing physician, medicine has always been a part of Ho's life.
It hasn't been easy continuing to practice medicine since moving to the United States to be with her husband, Minh Phan, in 2001.
She graduated from medical school in Saigon in 1994, but U.S. medical licensing officials wouldn't allow her to practice medicine here until she completed a medical residency. And that required her to return to medical school.
With two young children, it just wasn't feasible for Ho to go back to medical school.
So she went to work at Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center as a support technician. In 2003, she worked for International Communications of Lincoln, a job that took her into many local hospitals and physicians' offices interpreting for Vietnamese and French-speaking African immigrants.
She said interpreting taught her much about how medicine in the United States is practiced.
"I can see how the patients are treated in the United States," she said. "It was a really good experience for me."
Between August 2006 and February 2008, she volunteered at People's Health Center, learning from the doctors there and interpreting when needed. She later served on the center's board of directors.
In August 2008, she enrolled in the Union College physician assistant program. She expects to graduate in May 2011.
She quit interpreting last February, when she had her second child.
While Union College accepted a few of her college credits from Vietnam, she mostly had to retake the prerequisite courses required to enroll in the physician assistant program.
But she remains upbeat about having to repeat so much of her medical education.
"It's good to study new things," she said. "Medicine changes every day."
Dr. Dave Paulus at People's Health Center said he was very impressed by Ho's kindness and positive attitude, despite the barriers she faced.
He said he worked with Ho unsuccessfully for a year trying to get her a residency. Through the process, he learned how difficult it is for foreign-educated physicians to work in the United States, especially those from developing countries.
He said Ho would accompany him on visits to Vietnamese-speaking homes.
"It was just crucial that she was there," he said. "Vietnamese people were comfortable with her, too, and that was a huge thing."
Ho will be a great physician assistant, he said.
"I hope she comes and works with us," he said.
For her part, Ho said she appreciates the opportunity to again practice medicine.
"Now I'll study my best to be a good physician assistant."