According to Article 3 of Resolution 261/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly on the regime, policies on salaries and allowances for medical staff, titles such as medical doctor, traditional medicine doctor, maxillofacial surgeon, preventive medicine doctor and pharmacist when recruited into corresponding professional titles will be ranked salary from level 2.
This regulation takes effect from January 1, 2026 and is applied until there are new regulations on the salary regime.
Previously, according to Joint Circular 10/2015/TTLT-BYT-BNV, newly graduated doctors when recruited as public employees in the health sector are ranked 1st with a salary coefficient of 2.34 according to the professional salary scale issued with Decree 204/2004/ND-CP.
With the base salary in 2026 being 2.34 million VND/month (according to Decree 73/2024/ND-CP), the previous starting salary for new graduates was about 5.47 million VND/month, excluding allowances.
However, from 2026, when ranked 2nd with a coefficient of 2.67, the salary of newly graduated doctors will reach about 6.247 million VND/month, excluding allowances. Thus, the starting income of doctors will increase by nearly 800,000 VND per month compared to before.
In addition to adjusting salary grades, Resolution 261/2025/QH15 also stipulates a professional preferential allowance level of up to 100% for some specialized fields.
Specifically, people who regularly and directly practice medical expertise in the following fields will enjoy high-level professional preferential allowances: Psychiatry, forensic medicine, forensic psychiatry, emergency resuscitation, and pathology.
For medical staff working at commune-level health stations or preventive health facilities, the professional preferential allowance level is also increased.
In which, the 100% level applies to ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, border areas, islands or areas with difficult and extremely difficult socio-economic conditions.
For the remaining areas, the minimum professional preferential allowance level is 70%.
The Government will specify the implementation of these allowance levels in accordance with socio-economic development conditions in each period.
If the base salary is increased by 8% from July 1, 2026, the salaries of doctors in the public sector are also expected to be adjusted accordingly.
Specifically, senior doctors (rank I) and senior preventive medicine doctors (rank I) apply the salary coefficient of civil servant type A3 (group A3.1), ranging from 6.20 to 8.00. With the new expected base salary, the income of this group can reach about 15.68 million to 20.24 million VND/month.
For major doctors (rank II) and major preventive medicine doctors (rank II), the salary coefficient belonging to group A2 (A2. 1), ranges from 4.40 to 6.78. The expected basic salary level is about 11.13 million to 17.15 million VND/month.
Meanwhile, doctors (rank III) and preventive medicine doctors (rank III) apply the salary coefficient of civil servant type A1, from 2.34 to 4.98. With the new expected base salary, the income of this group ranges from about 5.92 million to 12.6 million VND/month.
