On the morning of February 24th, Tan Tao University (TTU) celebrated the Macchabée Ceremony to express gratitude to those who donated their bodies for medicinal studies and the White Coat Ceremony for the first-year medical students.
The Macchabée Ceremony expresses the deep gratitude of medical students to those who donated their bodies for medical studies.
The Macchabée Ceremony was held at Tan Tao General Hospital and Canary Club Hall of Tan Tao University in a solemn atmosphere, showing the gratitude of medical professors, doctors and students for people who donated their bodies for medical research. The special ceremony was attended by donors’ family members.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Prof. Dr. Le Van Cuong – Head of the Department of Anatomy of the School of Medicine , Tan Tao University expressed his deepest words of the gratitude to those who donated the bodies for medical science.
Following that, Dr. Ernest Talarico – Associate Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Indiana University, USA gave a speech about the meaning of the body donation for Medicine and expressed his feeling about the Ceremony. After that, two students named Le Thi Bich Ngan and Ly The Lan represented students of the School of Medicine of Tan Tao University to read the elegy, expressing the sincere and deep gratitude of all students of the School of Medicine of Tan Tao University to their silent teachers.
The Macchabée ceremony was born from the gratitude of Anatomists and Medical students. The ceremony was inspired by the dance of thanksgiving to those who have dedicated their bodies to science on Christmas annually.
The Macchabée is a unique cultural image, and it is common in Western countries. It also shows a diversity in rituals and visual arts. The festival is deeply humanistic, showing the mourning and blessing of the living for the deceased, thereby sending a desire for happiness and equality to everyone.
In Vietnam, before liberation, this festival was usually held on the Lunar New Year. After 1975, through many ups and downs of the history, the festival was interrupted for a long time. Since 1990, Professor Nguyen Quang Quyen, Head of the Department of Anatomy at University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City has restored the Macchabée prom and named it “The gratitude ceremony for those who have donated their bodies to science.”
White Coat Ceremony- the sacred symbol of transition and determination to become talented doctors.
The White Coat Ceremony is a meaningful humanitarian activity for students of the School of Medicine. This activity was maintained by Tan Tao University in the early days of establishing the School of Medicine in 2013 – modelling the American-style training standards that TTU brought to students. This is also the only school in Vietnam to organize the White Coat Ceremony for Medical freshmen. The white blouse is a sacred symbol, representing for Medical ethics and associating with the medical journey of the medical students on the way to become highly responsible and professional doctors.
Prof. Dr. Thach Nguyen – Acting Provost, Dean of the School of Medicine at Tan Tao University emphasized “Considering the profession of a physician that you have chosen as a way to save people and help life, not as a means of trade. This is the founding principle of Tan Tao University in general and the School of Medicine in particular. The appreciation of training morale for students is not inferior to academic improvement, which is a special highlight and humanistic meaning at this private university”.
Huynh Ngoc Phuong Thanh, a first-year student of the School of Medicine at Tan Tao University, shared her happiness and pride to wear a white blouse. More than the pride was the responsibility of a medical student with the mission of caring for everyone. Not only Phuong Thanh but also many other freshmen of the School of Medicine also expressed their determination on the path of studying medicine and practicing ethics to become talented doctors who will do their best for the patients.
Once again, we would like to express the deep gratitude to the silent teachers for their dedication to the cause of saving people and helping life. Thereby, medical students, especially medical students of Tan Tao University are hoped to remember the sacred and meaningful moments of the Macchabée Ceremony and the White Coat Ceremony. This will be a dynamic force for you to continue on the path of Medicine profession, full of thorns and challenges, but a virtuous and noble profession.
Source: From Vietnamese Teen Magazine
