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

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.