International medical training program suspended: School leaders propose solutions

On the afternoon of October 22, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine held a meeting with parents and students of the 2023-2024 course to discuss the suspension of the Vietnam-Germany international medical cooperation program.

Speaking at the meeting, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dang Thoai - Vice Principal of Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine said that the Vietnamese - German Medical Program is a project that has received special attention from the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City, and is also the passion of many generations of school leaders in an effort to improve the quality of medical training according to international standards.

Students of the Vietnamese-German Medical Program at the dialogue.

Upon receiving information that the cooperation program was being suspended, the school proactively worked and made efforts to negotiate with the German partner to find a solution. However, on October 8, the German side officially announced that it would no longer continue to implement the program.

According to the terms of the cooperation agreement, the German side commits to be responsible for supporting students to complete their training program. This is also an important legal basis for Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine to continue working with its partners, to ensure maximum benefits for students.

In the immediate future, the School offers three solutions to ensure the rights of students of the Vietnamese-German Medical Program.

Firstly, the school will continue to negotiate with the German side to build a new training program, in line with the current transformation orientation of the German partner.

Second, the school will work with the German National Institute for Medical Examinations (IMPP) to propose continuing to allow the provision of exam papers outside of Germany after 2027, helping students of the 2023 and 2024 courses to complete their studies according to the original schedule.

Third, in case the above two solutions are not feasible, the school will organize for students of the 2023 and 2024 courses to go to Germany to take the M2 exam. With this option, students need to have a German language certificate at level C1 to be eligible to take the exam.

“When they withdrew, we had to negotiate in the most beneficial way for students, based on the legal terms that both sides had committed to. Therefore, the curriculum for the 2023 and 2024 courses will certainly not change, except for the M2 exam. Although the program was stopped due to objective reasons from the partner, this is very difficult for us. On behalf of the school, I pledge to do our best so that students can complete the program smoothly,” said Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dang Thoai.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dang Thoai also hopes that students and parents will sympathize and share the incident when the German partner ends the cooperation in training the Vietnamese-German Medical program from the 2024 school year.

The reason for ending the training cooperation program comes from the fact that the German National Institute for Medical Examinations (IMPP) - the unit in charge of creating national medical and pharmaceutical exams - will stop providing M2 exams after 2027.

The joint training program for Medical Doctors between Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine (PNTU) and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU, Germany) was launched in 2013, aiming to provide Vietnamese students with the opportunity to study according to German medical standards. Currently, there are nearly 80 students studying this program.

Ha Yen

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/chuong-trinh-hoc-y-quoc-te-bi-dung-dao-tao-lanh-dao-truong-neu-phuong-an-xu-ly-ar972594.html