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Review
. 2025 Apr 16:57:101551.
doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2025.101551. eCollection 2025 Apr.

Developing institutional policies for health professionals' education reform: a case study of medical education in Viet Nam

Quang Cuong Le  1 , My Hanh Bui  1   2 , Quynh Long Khuong  3 , Phuong Anh Le  4 , Diep Tuan Tran  5 , Quoc Huy Nguyen Vu  6 , Nu Viet Vu  7
Affiliations
Review

Developing institutional policies for health professionals' education reform: a case study of medical education in Viet Nam

Quang Cuong Le et al. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. .

Abstract

The Lancet 2010 Commission for Health Professionals' Education highlighted both instructional and institutional reforms to improve health professionals' training. While developed countries often have well-established policies to facilitate educational reform, such policies are limited in many developing countries, including Viet Nam. In this paper, we outline the development and implementation of three key institutional policies to enhance medical education in Viet Nam: (1) Establishing competency standards for the Medical Doctor (MD) program, (2) coordinating clinical training between medical universities and hospitals, and (3) setting up a national licensing examination. These policies were also evaluated against the Lancet Commission's recommendations. Decisive factors for Viet Nam's initial success include the pioneering mindset of its governmental leaders, close collaborations between academic and governmental institutions, and support from international organizations and experts. This paper may serve as a useful reference for low- and middle-income countries seeking to improve medical education and health professionals' training.

Keywords: Competency-based education; Healthcare workforce training; Medical education; Policy reform.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Multi-level policy-making process in Viet Nam.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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