Concerns about "15 points to pass the doctor exam": Only having a university degree does not allow you to examine and treat patients

(Dan Tri) - From 2027, university graduates will not be able to practice medicine immediately but must pass a competency assessment exam organized by the National Medical Council.

Health students in a practice session (Photo: Thuy Huyen).

This is a new regulation included in the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment in 2023. Accordingly, the examination and assessment of medical examination and treatment capacity before requesting a practice license applies to the positions of doctor, physician, nurse, midwife, medical technician, clinical nutritionist, outpatient emergency worker and clinical psychologist.

Candidates for the medical examination and treatment competency assessment must meet the following conditions: Have a diploma appropriate to each professional title and have completed the medical examination and treatment practice as prescribed in Article 23 of this Law.

Regarding time, doctors are the first positions to apply competency assessment tests from January 1, 2027. The positions of physicians, nurses, and midwives will be tested and assessed from January 1, 2028. The positions of medical technicians, clinical nutritionists, emergency medical personnel, and clinical psychologists will be tested and assessed from January 1, 2029.

Thus, after graduating from university or college in the above majors, in order to work directly, medical staff must go through 3-4 more steps: completing a specialized training program (for doctors), practicing medical examination and treatment, taking a competency assessment exam and completing procedures to request a practice license.

With the new regulations of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment in 2023, a university degree is only a necessary condition, not a sufficient condition. Tightening the output with the national exam will be a safe barrier to protect people's health, regardless of the difference in the entrance scores of medical schools.

In June, the Ministry of Health also announced a list of 37 members of the National Medical Council, including one chairman, three vice chairmen and 33 members. The chairman is Prof. Dr. Tran Van Thuan, Deputy Minister of Health.

This is an independent agency, established by the Prime Minister . At the announcement ceremony, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that the establishment of the National Medical Council is necessary in the context of globalization and international integration.

The establishment of the National Medical Council aims to organize an exam to assess medical practice capacity according to international standards, creating an independent and objective inspection system.

“Having an independent assessment body will force medical training institutions to improve the quality of teaching and output. Thereby, only those with professional qualifications and ethics will be granted practice licenses,” Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said at the announcement ceremony.

To practice, medical staff must pass a competency assessment exam organized by the National Medical Council (Photo: Huyen Nguyen).

This is to protect the rights of patients and limit medical errors. The National Medical Council will advise the Government and the Ministry of Health to standardize, professionalize and modernize the Vietnamese health sector, from training to practice, ensuring the rights of the people and integrating with international standards.

The Council does not have the function of granting practice licenses, but fully evaluates the capacity of medical titles and sends the results to competent authorities to sign decisions allowing practice.

The exam results are the basis for granting practice licenses, a lever to force medical training institutions to improve teaching quality, avoiding the situation of uncontrolled mass training. Only those with sufficient professional capacity and professional ethics are granted practice licenses, ensuring patient safety.

According to initial information, this assessment will first be conducted on those who have just graduated and are preparing to practice because it would be very difficult to assess all those who have been and are practicing medicine at the same time.

The solution that has been considered is to build an assessment tool using a set of questions, which can be implemented in the form of multiple choice tests, with the support of technical technology, and computer-based testing, to help the Council make accurate assessments.

The organization of the assessment test is also calculated to be fair and transparent, so that two candidates, even though sitting next to each other, can share the same set of questions but cannot ask each other questions or copy answers because the question numbers are different.

By the end of 2024, Vietnam will have 214 medical personnel training facilities with 66 higher education institutions. The number of doctors graduating in 2024 will be about 12,000.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/lo-ngai-15-diem-do-bac-si-chi-co-bang-dai-hoc-khong-duoc-kham-chua-benh-20251123071909768.htm