The Ministry of Health is seeking opinions on the draft Circular guiding and organizing the implementation of postgraduate training programs in the field of health for resident doctors and specialist doctors.
It is expected that the regulation takes effect from January 1, 2027, replacing the current regulations on specialist level I, specialist level II and resident doctors.
Proposal for new regulations on training resident doctors and specialist doctors
According to the draft, resident doctor and specialist doctor degrees belonging to the national education system are issued after completing the program and meeting the graduation conditions.
Hospital doctors must study intensively for at least 3 years
The training subjects for resident doctors are doctors who graduate in medicine, traditional medicine or dentistry within 12 months from the date of graduation recognition and are only allowed to apply once.
The training program is formal, full-time, at least 3 years depending on the major. Students must regularly study and work at hospitals or practice facilities and participate in scientific research or have articles.
A specialist doctor is a doctor in the medical field, traditional medicine, dentistry or preventive medicine, with a valid certificate or practicing license.
The program can be formal training focused on or part-time. The part-time form is only applied to people working at public health facilities in difficult areas, with a training time of 1.5-2 times the formal program.
Each program must have at least 7 lecturers
Each program must have at least 7 full-time lecturers, of which at least 3 people have a doctorate degree in the right major and one person is the Program Director.
Lecturers teaching and guiding medical examination and treatment practice must have a certificate or appropriate practicing license, at least 3 years of teaching experience and be working or have worked directly at a medical examination and treatment facility.
Inpatient doctor training practice facilities must meet the requirements for facilities, human resources, and techniques; clinical practice instructors must have at least 48 months of practice.
Recruiting resident doctors once a year
Inpatient doctor recruitment is organized once a year, through entrance exams or combining entrance exams with other methods.
Specialist doctors can enroll one or more times per year through entrance exams. In special cases, admission can be considered but must be approved by the Ministry of Health.
Enrollment information must be made public at least 30 days before the end of receiving applications, including quotas, admission conditions, enrollment methods, tuition fees and diplomas issued.
Tuition fees for resident doctors and specialists have a ceiling
At public higher education institutions, tuition fees for the centralized formal program are determined according to the ceiling tuition fee for master's training.
For the specialist doctor program, working and studying at a public institution, tuition fees do not exceed 150% of the regular level of the same major.
Non-public institutions are allowed to proactively build tuition fees but must be public and accountable; the increase each year does not exceed 15%.
Failed to achieve competency assessment twice and had to drop out of school
Resident doctor students must participate in professional competency assessment tests. If they fail after 2 times, the learner must drop out of school.
Boarding students who do not meet the requirements can transfer to the specialist doctor program in the same specialty if they meet the entrance conditions; the accredited modules can be recognized.
The training program must be reviewed and updated at least every 5 years. If for 3 consecutive years there is no enrollment or no students enroll, the program organization decision expires.
The Ministry of Health conducts post-inspection and may suspend enrollment for 6-12 months if the training institution does not ensure quality conditions. In case of serious re-violations, the program may be suspended from implementation for at least 5 years.
People who have been admitted or are studying specialty I, specialty II, resident doctors before the Circular takes effect are allowed to continue studying and graduation recognition according to regulations at the time of enrollment.
According to Dr. Nguyen Van Quan - Deputy Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Training (Ministry of Health), from 2027, there will be no more training for specialist doctors I and specialist doctors II. Basic specialist training forms will also be removed, and general practitioners will not be allowed to "go sideways" to other specialties.
Specifically, doctors who want to study a specialty must be in the foundational major. For example, only maxillofacial dentists can study maxillofacial dentistry; traditional medicine doctors can study traditional medicine.
After obtaining a doctor's degree and practicing certificate, the expected specialist training time is 3 years for majors such as internal medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics, dermatology and 4 years for surgery. The total training time for specialist doctors is about 9-10 years.
Doctors studying specialty I, specialty II, master's, and doctoral degrees can be converted to appropriate credits and supplement the remaining part to receive a specialist degree according to new regulations.
