There is a saying: "Prevention is better than cure," which emphasizes that we need to prevent disease before it occurs, instead of just finding a cure when it has already appeared. Disease prevention not only helps reduce the risk of disease but also helps reduce physical, mental, and financial well-being when having to treat the disease. In Vietnam, disease prevention depends on raising people's awareness of health care. A memorable experience in my career has taught me a profound lesson about the importance of raising public awareness in health care, as well as limiting the occurrence of future accidents.

I am a medical student and regularly rotate through various departments at hospitals for clinical internships. In the first semester of year III, which is in September 2024, I interned at the Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology of Thong Nhat Dong Nai Hospital. During a night shift, a male patient was hospitalised with colic pain in the epigastric region and around the periumbilical area, radiating to the left lower ribs and back, which occurred after drinking alcohol with friends for nearly 4 hours. The patient also experienced nausea and vomited in large quantities of old food, followed by pale yellow fluid, without blood or pus. The patient's medical history showed that the patient had a habit of drinking alcohol at 35,505 units/day for the past 5 years. The patient's occupation was a construction worker and the patient often sat drinking with colleagues until late at night after a long day of work. The patient was later diagnosed with mild acute pancreatitis, suspected to be caused by alcohol. He showed signs of alcoholism and was monitored for alcohol withdrawal syndrome during his hospital stay. After about a week of treatment, the patient's condition improved and he was discharged from the hospital.

Some time later, I transferred to practice at the Department of Orthopedic Trauma Surgery in May 2025. During the clinical visit, I met a familiar face. After asking about his medical history and examining him, I realized that this patient was the one I had met before at the Internal Gastroenterology Department. He said that after getting drunk with friends at around 2 am, he drove his motorbike home. As he was drunk, he could not see the road clearly and crashed into a truck. He was admitted to the hospital unconscious with no ability to move his left leg. After taking an X-ray, the doctor diagnosed that he had broken the fracture of both tibia and fibula in his left leg. An external fixation was then applied. The time for full recovery and regaining the ability to move as before could take from 6 months to 1 year. Not only that, the police came to investigate and file a case for legal action. The police can apply administrative penalties, temporarily impound the vehicle or even prosecute criminally if causing a serious accident in this case. He needs money to compensate for the truck driver as well as taking care of his wife and children during his hospital stay. I spoke to him and learned that although the doctor had advised him to quit drinking after his previous discharge, he had not followed that advice. After 2 weeks of quitting alcohol, he resumed drinking and had never intended to quit.

Through this story, I clearly realized that alcohol was the cause of the patient's two hospitalizations, the first in September 2024 and the second in May 2025, about 8 months apart. As a medical student, I reflected a lot about how to reduce similar hospitalizations, how to educate and raise awareness of the harmful effects of alcohol when they continue to drink despite prior counseling. As medical professionals, our role goes beyond simply treating the disease; we also need to encourage and motivate patients to change their behavior. In addition, we can also introduce support options such as alcohol addiction support groups or psychotherapy, to help patients overcome addiction and avoid relapse, so as not to face serious complications associated with alcohol abuse.

Message: We need to not only treat the disease but also focus on education, counseling and supporting patients to change their behavior, prevent disease, avoid accidents, and help them maintain a healthy lifestyle.

This article reflects the personal views of the writer. This article doesn't reflect the policies and organisational views of Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, The Global Health Network, and CONNECT.