'Medical admission based on Literature is a breakthrough but has potential risks'

'Strange' combination for medical school admission

The 2023 university admission season caused a surprise when 4 universities added Literature to the medical entrance exam. In the 4 admission methods to Van Lang University (HCMC) in 2023, there are 3 traditional combinations A00, B00 and D08 and 1 new combination D12 (Literature, Chemistry, English).

Vo Truong Toan University (Hau Giang) and Tan Tao University (Long An) use combination B03 (Math, Literature, Biology) in the method of considering high school graduation exam scores to recruit medical students. Duy Tan University also recruits medical students using 4 combinations: A16 (Math, Natural Sciences , Literature), B00, D90 (Math, Natural Sciences, Foreign Languages) and D08.

Medical and Pharmaceutical students practice clinical practice. (Illustration photo)

The fact that schools include Literature in the admissions combination has caused a stir in public opinion. Explaining the 'strange' combination in the admissions for the medical major, a representative of Van Lang University affirmed that the school included this combination in the admissions for the medical major based on work experience, training process and survey of many long-time doctors.

The need to protect, care for and improve people's health is increasing. In the previous stage, we not only focused on medical examination and treatment but also on health management, health consultation, remote disease prevention, and health promotion. On the other hand, the grassroots health sector is the unit that regularly contacts people, shares, encourages, and consults in many ways. Therefore, students who are good at Literature will have better social thinking.

Regarding the question of why they did not choose combinations with Math but chose Literature, a representative of Van Lang University said: "In surveys and research, most students are good at advanced math but in 6 years of medical study (even up to master's and doctorate) do not use much math knowledge, only use statistics for scientific research".

The school recruits 4 groups of students, of which 3/4 use Math for consideration. Therefore, including Literature as a subject is a new direction for well-rounded students, especially those who are good at Literature. Doctors who are good at Literature will be very convenient for disease prevention work such as preventive medicine, healtheducation and communication, improving health counseling, family medicine, psychotherapy, psychiatry...

Breakthrough or reckless?

In 2014, the Minister of Health at that time responded to the proposal of some principals of medical and pharmaceutical schools to include Literature in the medical entrance exam. The leaders of the health sector at that time believed that Literature was very necessary for medical staff, helping them to speak fluently and express their writing clearly and grammatically.

National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga

National Assembly delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga (Hai Duong delegation) assessed that universities adding Literature to the medical entrance exam is an innovation and a breakthrough. However, any breakthrough has potential risks, and requires close management and supervision to avoid "a hundred flowers blooming" and the appearance of many strange combinations in the medical field.

"Recently, society has raised the issue of medical ethics and the way doctors treat patients. That is the reason why schools decided to include Literature in the admissions process," said Ms. Nga.

Along with that, according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, the quality assurance threshold for students applying for admission to the medical field requires an average 3-year high school GPA of 8.0 or higher, which means only excellent students are eligible to apply to medical schools.

Students who are good at Biology will usually also do well in the natural sciences, such as Math and Chemistry. These subjects are closely linked and have been proven through many studies. Therefore, it is acceptable for schools to add Literature to the combination of Math, Biology, Literature or Chemistry, Biology, Literature. Only educational institutions that consider admission to the medical field without Biology are worrisome.

In medical training, student quality and expertise are the two most important factors. "To be more cautious, schools should only consider Literature as a secondary criterion when considering admission documents," Ms. Nga said.

Dr. Tran Duc Bao, Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Hue University) supports the addition of Literature to the medical program. Literature helps educate people to be more emotional and humane. This helps doctors to be less mechanical, rigid, and insensitive in their treatment of patients.

"Including Literature in medical school admissions cannot immediately change people's personalities, but it helps guide students to value this subject from a young age," said the expert.

Currently, students who intend or are oriented to pursue a medical career usually only study three subjects in group B. While many countries in the world do not do this when enrolling medical students. Many countries in the world, when enrolling medical students, often interview candidates to know their motivation for pursuing a medical career, thereby also knowing whether their personality is suitable for the profession or not. These factors are very important for those who choose to study and work in medicine.

In fact, many lecturers assess that current medical students have poor problem-solving and self-study abilities... even though they are admitted to university with very high scores.

"In medical school admissions, Literature is only a secondary subject. What needs to be considered is whether the combination of subjects offered by the schools includes Biology or not - this subject is essential and indispensable. If the combination of subjects offered by the schools does not include Biology, we need to blow the whistle immediately," the doctor stated.

Medical students. (Illustration photo)

Associate Professor, Dr. Dau Xuan Canh, Chairman of the Vietnam Oriental Medicine Association, former Director of the Vietnam Academy of Traditional Medicine, supports the fact that some universities have Literature as a subject in medical school admissions.

"This is not the first time public opinion has been stirred up about this issue. Since 2018, when the first school introduced Literature into the admissions process, it has caused mixed opinions. However, we need to frankly acknowledge that the quality of students is still guaranteed and this is also considered a test step for other universities to look at," he said.

In addition to the ability to examine and treat, consulting is very important for doctors. In reality, many doctors have poor consulting skills because they are used to using specialized language that patients do not understand.

It is reasonable for schools to include Literature in the admissions process, however the other two subjects in the combination must be from the Natural Sciences group: Chemistry - Biology or Mathematics - Biology. "In addition to medical ethics and patient counseling skills, expertise is still the top priority," said Mr. Canh.

Mr. Dinh Duc Hien, a teacher at the HOCMAI system, opposes the inclusion of Literature in the medical entrance exam . "The addition of Literature to the medical entrance exam has no real meaning. Schools simply want to increase competition and attract candidates. This only happens in private schools and schools that have difficulty recruiting students," he said.

This teacher believes that such recruitment has many concerns, because the medical profession not only needs talented people but also very suitable people. To pursue a medical career, academic ability is not enough, and the medical profession is not a profession that can be trained on a mass basis.

Source: https://vtc.vn/dbqh-xet-tuyen-nganh-y-bang-mon-van-la-dot-pha-nhung-tiem-an-rui-ro-ar784568.html