Vietnam’s health system is preparing a major change in doctor training. The new plan will require at least ten years before a doctor can become a specialist, a fact that will affect every future medical career.

The Ministry of Health is finalising a draft circular that will replace the current Level I and Level II specialist programmes with specialist and advanced specialist programmes. The circular is expected to be applied from 2027 under the amended Law on Higher Education.

The circular also says training will be competency‑based, with flexible durations that match each specialty and follow international models, according to Dr Nguyen Ngo Quang, head of the MOH Department of Science, Training and Technology. Dr Quang explained that training institutions must design curricula that meet the defined competencies.

According to Dr Quang, the minimum time to qualify as a practising specialist is ten years: six years of medical school, one year of practical training, and at least three years of specialist training. After the practical year, doctors must pass an exam to obtain a medical practice licence before choosing specialist training.

Doctors who have not finished specialist training may only carry out procedures allowed for general doctors, usually at basic‑level health facilities. To work in higher‑level hospitals, they must complete specialist training, as shown by the examples of provincial and tertiary hospitals.

Advanced specialist training will let doctors who have earned a basic specialist qualification move into subspecialties such as cardiovascular surgery or neurosurgery. This new pathway gives doctors more options but also lengthens the overall training period, reshaping career planning across the country.