Professor Tran Diep Tuan: Improving resident physician recruitment to select the right people.

The Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy has recently added an interview round to its residency recruitment process. According to Professor Tran Diep Tuan, this helps select the right person for the right field, accurately assessing the candidate's abilities and suitability for the specialty.

Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy revised and supplemented several articles of its postgraduate admission regulations. In the residency examination, in addition to participating in the multiple-choice test, candidates must also pass a competency assessment round through an interview. VietNamNet had an interview with Professor Tran Diep Tuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, about this improvement:

Interviewing to select the right person.

- Why is the Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy improving its postgraduate admissions process, especially for resident doctors, sir?

In our country, training medical residents is the process of cultivating the best in the medical field, those who will be the key force in the future healthcare system. Therefore, their studies and training are already very difficult and stressful, so the selection requirements must be even more precise and appropriate. This is why we are making changes to our admissions process, aiming to select individuals who possess both the ability and aptitude to pursue their chosen specialty; while also creating opportunities for them to develop a sustainable career in the future.

Professor Tran Diep Tuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

In many countries around the world , the recruitment of resident physicians has long been based on interviews – not simply to test knowledge, but more importantly to help the admissions committee assess whether the candidate is truly suited to the specialty they are applying for. For example, someone with the aptitude and aptitude for surgery might choose internal medicine, or vice versa, and may not be able to fully utilize their potential. Through interviews, we can better identify the suitability of each candidate for each specialty, thereby providing accurate advice and the best possible guidance for them.

In summary, incorporating interviews helps to accurately assess the candidate's abilities and suitability, thereby improving training effectiveness.

- Is the use of interviews in residency admissions a new approach in Vietnam, and what are the universities doing to ensure the fairness and objectivity of this method?

Previously, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy used interviews in the recruitment of resident doctors. Globally, this method has been used for a long time and is quite common, not only to test knowledge but also to assess the candidate's suitability for the registered specialty.

The biggest challenge of the interview process is ensuring objectivity and minimizing the influence of external factors. Therefore, the school has developed a clear procedure and scoring system, and has provided thorough training to the admissions committee before implementation.

When conducted correctly and fairly, interviews can be effective in selecting resident physicians who match their skills and expertise, laying the foundation for long-term career development.

Resident physicians should be paid and granted temporary licenses to practice.

- What are the current regulations regarding the working hours of resident doctors at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, sir?

The work of a resident doctor is extremely demanding. This is true in Vietnam as well as in any other country. At the Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, the regulations stipulate that resident doctors work approximately 62-64 hours per week (the remaining hours must be spent at the university to supplement their knowledge). This is lower than in some countries, but it still shows that residency training is very intensive, requiring doctors to work and study continuously.

Resident doctors are essentially "training doctors," meaning they have graduated but are undergoing further specialized training and education. Therefore, policies and support systems need to be appropriate, ensuring both their livelihood and helping them successfully complete their training.

- Could you please clarify what "doctor in training" means?

What I mean is, they are already doctors, but they are continuing their advanced training. Therefore, they should be paid. However, currently, our resident doctors have to pay tuition fees but are not paid, which is both unreasonable and unfair.

Without tuition fees, the school cannot guarantee its training activities. Therefore, tuition fees must still be collected, but theoretically, if possible, the government should cover both tuition and salaries for resident doctors. A more feasible solution would be for resident doctors to receive salaries from the hospital. They could use this salary to pay tuition fees, reducing the financial burden. The school can only provide additional support through scholarships or other programs.

Ideally, in addition to receiving a salary, resident doctors should be granted a temporary practice license from the outset upon successful admission. Without permission to practice on patients, they will be unable to learn the profession in a practical way. The essence of medical training is clinical learning, meaning they must have direct contact with and care for patients.

Of course, this must be closely supervised; resident doctors will not do it on their own but will always have someone to guide them.

Therefore, there are two issues that need to be addressed: ensuring a minimum wage and granting temporary practice licenses to resident physicians. These are necessary conditions for resident physician training to become substantive and effective.

Standardizing the residency training program for physicians.

- Currently, there are 13 residency training schools for doctors, many of which are private, with varying programs and training content. What requirements does this place on ensuring the quality of training across these institutions, sir?

In my opinion, this raises an important question: should training programs be standardized across educational institutions nationwide? The answer is "standardization is highly recommended."

Of course, each school can still be flexible in its methods and organization of training, but there must be a common competency standard so that every doctor graduating from any school meets the same standard. This will ensure the quality of training nationwide and eliminate significant disparities between institutions.

This set of standards will include competency standards for resident physicians in each specialty, ensuring that all doctors after training meet consistent standards, from professional knowledge to clinical skills. This standardization will not only improve the quality of training but also create fairness, transparency, and trust in the national medical training system.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/giao-su-tran-diep-tuan-cai-tien-tuyen-bac-si-noi-tru-de-chon-dung-nguoi-2489380.html