More young doctors to be sent to disadvantaged areas

The young volunteer physicians will be sent to disadvantaged areas across the country after graduation to help facilitate public healthcare for locals.

A training course for young doctors who volunteer to work in disadvantaged areas across the country opened in Hanoi on June 26.

Run by the Ministry of Health and the Hanoi Medical University, the course is part of a project to send young doctors to work in mountainous, remote and isolated areas, as well as in border areas and islands with difficult socio-economic conditions.

A total of 31 young doctors were selected according to the entry criteria for the course. Trainees will be taught in ten specialties in Hanoi for 24 months, before going to work in difficult areas.

Before being admitted, the trainees were recruited to work in central hospitals in Hanoi, as well as in 15 disadvantaged districts in seven provinces in the north.

After completing their training, young doctors will be sent to work in districts as per their registration for a working period ranging from 2-3 years. Those from the 15 aforementioned disadvantaged districts after graduation will be granted long-term work contracts at the districts’ hospitals or health centres.

Dr. Pham Van Tac, Head of the Ministry of Health’s Personnel Department, who is also the director of the project, said that up to now, 210 young doctors have been selected to participate in ten training courses and 14 have graduated to work in disadvantaged districts and mountainous areas, bringing about practical contributions to health care for local people.

The pilot project is considered a breakthrough in the health sector towards ensuring that a sufficient number of qualified and skilled human resources meet the health care needs of local people in difficult areas.

It is expected to create opportunities for the disadvantaged to access better quality health services, helping reduce overcrowding in higher level hospitals and avoiding wastage for society.

A successfully implemented project will also create better conditions for young physicians to devote their strength and intellect to contribute to the country's development.