On the evening of September 11, during the closing ceremony of the 24th Asian Hospital Management Conference 2025, organized by Vietnam's Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Asian Hospital Management Association, Professor Nguyen Dinh Hoi was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award, jointly presented by the Ministry of Health and the Asian Hospital Management Association, recognizes individuals with outstanding contributions to the region’s healthcare development. Professor Hoi was unanimously selected by the award committee, following a nomination from the Ministry of Health.

Graduating from Hanoi Medical University in 1960, Dr. Hoi began his career as a lecturer in the Surgery Department and practiced at Viet Duc Hospital. He was mentored by the legendary Professor Ton That Tung, from whom he learned the art of surgery. With determination and continuous learning from peers and mentors, Dr. Hoi quickly gained recognition as a skilled surgeon with a “golden touch,” earning trust from colleagues and students alike.

In 1972, amid the height of war, Dr. Hoi led a team of final-year medical students to support Viet Tiep Hospital in Hai Phong in treating victims of the B-52 bombings. The team worked alongside Cuban medical specialists, forming a collaborative surgical crew handling anesthesia, abdominal surgery, orthopedics, and more.

After studying in France, Dr. Hoi relocated to Saigon with his family. There, he was appointed head of the Surgery Department at Gia Dinh People's Hospital by Professor Truong Cong Trung, then-rector of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Together, they traveled across southern provinces to conduct specialized surgical training for doctors at lower-level hospitals.

From 1993 to 2007, he served as Rector of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Despite holding top administrative roles, Professor Hoi remained a dedicated educator and physician.

Over his career, he served as Chair of the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Admissions Council, supervised 23 PhD dissertations, 9 second-level specializations, 12 master's theses, and many CKI (first-level specialization) and residency theses. He authored and edited 10 medical textbooks and 5 specialized monographs, led numerous national and ministerial-level research projects, and published over 70 scientific papers. He also held roles such as Chairman of the university’s Scientific and Technical Council, Head of the Hepatobiliary Surgery Center at the Advanced Medical Center, and Chairman of multiple national and international medical conferences.

His extraordinary contributions have been recognized with numerous honors: the Second-class Resistance Medal Against the US in 1985, the 40-year Party Membership Badge, the Second-class Labor Medal in 2002 and 2009, the People’s Teacher title in 1996, the Technology Innovation Science Award in 2006, and the Ton That Tung Award in 2004 for his pioneering work in surgical science.

Professor Hoi is the fourth Vietnamese doctor to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Previous recipients include Professor Vu Van Dinh, founder of Vietnam’s intensive care sector (2012); Mrs. Vi Nguyet Ho, former Chair of the Vietnam Nurses Association and wife of Professor Ton That Tung (2016); and Professor Le Ngoc Trong, former Deputy Minister of Health (2019).

Phuong Thuy