From "learning enough time" to "achieving enough ability
According to the Department of Science, Technology and Training (Ministry of Health), Vietnam currently has a parallel model of resident doctors and specialist doctors but is not really unified in terms of organization.
The Ministry of Health orients resident doctors as a specialized program for medical students with good capacity, contributing to training a team of experts. Meanwhile, specialist doctors are for doctors who have practiced before continuing in-depth training.
Notably, the Ministry of Health is studying to change the system of CKI and CKII diplomas. According to this agency, dividing specialized training into two levels does not fully reflect the differences in the scope of practice, professional techniques and the level of specialization between majors.
According to the new direction, the training time will be designed flexibly according to each major. Program content, capacity requirements, job positions and professional scope are the basis for determining duration. Fields with complex techniques and large practical requirements can be trained longer and more specialized.
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Tri Thuc said that specialized training reform will shift from assessing study time to output competency standards. The training program will be based on capacity, job position and actual needs of the health system, ensuring that doctors after graduation meet professional requirements.
Prof. Dr. Pham Manh Hung, Head of Cardiology Department - Hanoi Medical University, Director of the Institute of Cardiology - Hospital 19-8 Ministry of Public Security - said that if there is no innovation, training specialist doctors will be difficult to catch up with the world.
According to him, the draft is an opportunity for Vietnam to build a long-term roadmap to improve the quality of specialized training. "Doctors who are well-trained, exposed to a variety of pathologies, and are regularly monitored and evaluated will have a good professional foundation. Conversely, lack of training and guidance makes it difficult to narrow the gap between levels just by investing in equipment," he analyzed.
Prof. Dr. Pham Manh Hung assessed that the difference in quality of medical examination and treatment between levels and regions partly stems from uneven postgraduate training, causing patients to concentrate at higher levels. He believes that the regulation of the same output standards for resident doctors and specialists is a step towards the principle of "one specialty - one competency standard".
Determining resident doctors, standardizing input
The Ministry of Health also orients a clearer distinction between resident doctors and specialist doctors. According to the Department of Science and Technology and Training, resident doctors are for medical students with good capacity, while specialist doctors are for doctors who have completed practical training before in-depth training. The distinction aims to build a training roadmap suitable for learners and the needs of medical human resources.
However, Prof. Dr. Pham Manh Hung said that it is necessary to look at resident training in the international context. According to him, calling resident doctors "excellent training" mainly stems from the reality of competitive exams and limited quotas in Vietnam, which does not fully reflect the nature of this model in the world.
The draft stipulates that applicants for resident doctors must have a doctoral degree in medicine, traditional medicine or dentistry and meet the conditions on the time of graduation recognition. Diplomas issued by foreign educational institutions must be recognized according to regulations.
For the specialist doctor program, applicants must have a doctoral degree from a suitable major and a valid practicing license for medical examination and treatment. Training institutions can set additional requirements but not lower than the standards prescribed by the Ministry of Health.
According to the draft, resident doctor and specialist doctor diplomas are diplomas from postgraduate specialist training programs in the field of health, belonging to the national education system.
Facilities that have been assigned the task of training resident doctors, CKI, CKII will continue to organize training according to new regulations when meeting the corresponding conditions. Facilities that have not been assigned the task are only allowed to organize training when meeting the requirements for faculty, facilities and professional standards.
The Ministry of Health is continuing to collect opinions from agencies, training institutions and experts to complete the draft, with the goal of standardizing the capacity of doctors, narrowing the professional gap between levels, improving the quality of medical examination and treatment and ensuring patient safety.
