Medical humanities education in Vietnamese medical schools: a comparative perspective from the USA and Republic of Korea.

BACKGROUND

The importance of integrating Medical humanities education into medical curricula has been recognized worldwide. This study helps to understand the current status of the Medical humanities education in medical schools in Vietnam and provides insights and references for promoting it.

METHODS

We conducted a comparative study based on a literature review and survey of Medical humanities courses in medical schools in Vietnam, the USA and Republic of Korea. Data from the USA and Republic of Korea were referenced from the previous reports. To obtain the data from Vietnamese medical schools we examined the curriculum posted on the websites and, if insufficient, collected them by contacting the faculties in the schools. We explored the similarities and differences in Medical humanities courses educated in medical schools in Vietnam and those in the USA and Republic of Korea. Additionally, chi-square tests were used to examine the association between the types of medical schools and offerings of Medical humanities courses in Vietnamese medical schools.

RESULTS

We analyzed information of 31 medical schools in Vietnam, 154 in the USA and 40 in Republic of Korea. Of these, 93.5% medical schools in Vietnam, 87.7% in the USA and all 40 in Republic of Korea provided at least one Medical humanities course. Medical humanities courses in Vietnam offered only 8 types of subjects, which was less diverse compared to more than 12 in the USA and Republic of Korea. In addition, the average number of Medical humanities courses in medical schools in Vietnam was less than those in the USA and Republic of Korea. The most common Medical humanities courses in Vietnam were Medical ethics (83.9%), Communication (71.0%) and Psychology (64.5%). Private schools showed a tendency to provide more Communication course.

CONCLUSIONS

Medical humanities education in Vietnam is significantly limited compare to those in the USA and Republic of Korea. Considering the potential of Medical humanities to produce new medical doctors with excellent medical practice, efforts should be made to strengthen Medical humanities education when reforming the curriculum in the future in Vietnam.