The Ministry of Education and Training, in agreement with Ministry of Health, has decided to cease universities not specialising in medical education from opening new majors in the field of general medicine, odonto-stomatology, traditional medicine and pharmacology next year in an effort to ensure proper management of doctor training quality.

Vietnam currently has 55 public and private universities providing medical training, according to the Ministry of Health statistics. The network of medicine training providers was expanded, comprising non-specialised universities which are allowed to admit students on medicine courses, with an aim to meet growing demand for medical staff.

Medical training requires fundamental criteria such as academic staff, infrastructure and research funding, laboratory classes, as well as a network of hospitals and clinics for internships. Non-specialised universities fail to meet these requirements while lower their admission requirements. These institutions, therefore, can hardly guarantee the output quality of their graduates.

On the other hand, ASEAN countries have agreed to employ nurses of member countries from 2015. This is part of regional integration among the ASEAN countries.

British Council commentary:

UK institutions who are looking for Trans-national Education (TNE) partners should avoid discussing collaboration in the medical areas with non-specialising universities, at least for the time being.

With the ASEAN cooperation in employing nurses across member countries, the UK is likely to face more competition in partnerships and recruiting Vietnamese students. Local institutions and students may prefer working with universities in neighbouring countries to familiarise students with the regional medical system for the future career.

Sources:

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/education/119077/non-medical-universiti...
http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/24502/asean-countries-to-use-nurses-of-eac...

Further enquiries about universities providing medical training, please contact Bui Nga at nga.bui@britishcouncil.org.vn