The Saigon Medical School, Vietnam, before April 1975, with its main facility located on Hong Bang Street, Cholon, its teaching hospitals: Cho Ray, Binh Dan, Nhi Dong,.. and its professors: Pham Bieu Tam, Nguyen Huu, Tran Ngoc Ninh,Hoang Tien Bao, Dang Van Chieu, Nguyen Van Hong, Nguyen Ngoc Huy..
"The basic sciences complex of the Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry was located in the Cholon section of Saigon on a 15-acre tract of land. Construction was begun in the spring of 1963 and completed in the fall of 1966, at a total cost of $2,700,000 (U.S.), of which the U.S. and half by the Republic of Viet Nam paid approximately half. Original plans called for the construction of a teaching hospital on adjacent land, but those plans were not fulfilled.
The complex included four main buildings connected by a broad, two-story passageway. The two major structures, North Building and South Building, were four stories high. Between them were two smaller buildings, one containing the library and the cafeteria, the other a 450-seat auditorium. The North Building included the departments of gross anatomy, physiology and pharmacology, and animal surgery, and the animal vivarium, central administrative offices, and two 200-seat classrooms. The South Building included the departments of histology and embryology, pathology and biochemistry, and microbiology. On the ground floor were the Dental Outpatient Clinic and Dental Technical Laboratories and another 200-seat classroom. The South Building also included the administrative offices of the American Dental Association, AMA, and USAID.
The clinical instruction of medical students was carried out at eight different hospitals in the Saigon area. When the AMA project began, Cho Ray Hospital was probably the major teaching hospital, with full clerkships in internal medicine and general surgery. General surgery was also taught at Binh Dan Hospital, as well as urology, orthopedic surgery, ophthalmology, and dermatology. Pediatrics and pediatric surgery were taught at Nhi Dong Hospital. Obstetrics and gynecology were taught at Hung Vuong and Tu DU Hospitals. Nguyen Van Hoc Hospital was being constructed as general teaching hospital for clerkships in internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics.
Only one hospital, Binh Dan, was under the control of the Ministry of Education and the medical school; all members of the professional staff were members of the faculty. All other hospitals were under the Ministry of Health and there was no relationship between staff membership and faculty appointment."
Saigon Medical School, An experiment In International Medical Education,(from: An Account of the American Medical Association's Medical Education Project in South Vietnam, 1966-1975
By C. H. William Ruhe, M.D., Norman Hoover, M.D. and Ira Singer, Ph. D.)
(American Medical Association ,1988)
