Curriculum

Our Program is a 6-year program. The curriculum is designed to challenge and inspire you, equipping you with the knowledge and skills necessary to excel. We recognize the importance of a supportive learning environment, and our program emphasizes collegiality, collaboration, and well-being, ensuring you have the foundation to thrive both professionally and personally.

Clinical Rotations

Our residents will encounter a diverse range of patients and specialties. Core rotations include Surgical Intensive Care, Gastrointestinal Surgery, Hepatobiliary and Transplant Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Acute Care and Trauma Surgery, and Vascular Surgery. Additionally, our residents have opportunities to engage in subspecialty rotations such as Thoracic Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, and Breast Surgery.
Teaching sites feature Vinmec Times City International Hospital, which adheres to international standards of care, as well as public hospitals such as 108 Military Central Hospital, Bach Mai Hospital, and National Children’s Hospital, all known for their high volume of complex cases.
This extensive exposure prepares residents for independent practice and further fellowship training in their chosen subspecialties.
From year 3, Residents will begin to be layered on top of first-year residents on some rotations. This is to provide direct supervision of intern activities with respect to patient care as well as provide opportunities for these residents to begin to have clinical and teaching responsibilities.
During year 5 and 6, Residents will be the acting chiefs of their services. As such they will function with a high level of autonomy and will be in charge of the daily activities of their services. They will also be responsible for educating junior residents and medical students.

Teaching conferences

Didactic Lectures

Residents will be required to attend both a weekly didactic session focusing on the core principles of surgery defined by the SCORE Curriculum. These conferences will be held at a central location. All residents are mandated to attend and thus cannot be given clinical responsibilities during this time.

Case Conference

Case conferences enhance clinical reasoning and decision-making by allowing residents to discuss and defend their management choices in a structured, peer-reviewed setting. These conferences facilitate the integration of theoretical knowledge with practical application, crucial for effective learning and retention. They also promote interdisciplinary learning and collaboration, essential for managing complex cases. Additionally, case conferences are vital for professional development, helping residents improve communication and presentation skills. Lastly, they address quality improvement and patient safety by analyzing adverse outcomes and identifying areas for clinical practice enhancement.

M&M conference

Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) Conferences play a pivotal role in surgical residency programs by focusing on critical self-assessment and systemic improvement. These conferences provide a forum for discussing cases with adverse outcomes or significant complications, fostering a culture of transparency and learning. They encourage the identification of potential systemic errors and individual mistakes to improve future patient care and safety. Additionally, M&M Conferences serve as a key educational platform, where residents learn to analyze clinical decisions and outcomes in a non-punitive environment, enhancing their clinical judgment and understanding of medical ethics.

Journal Club

Journal Club meetings in surgical residency programs are integral for developing critical appraisal skills and staying updated with the latest research and clinical practices. These sessions encourage residents to rigorously analyze and discuss recent articles from peer-reviewed journals, fostering a deeper understanding of research methodologies, statistics, and evidence-based medicine. Journal Clubs also promote a culture of lifelong learning and curiosity, essential for a career in medicine. Through these discussions, residents learn to question and apply research findings to their clinical decision-making processes, ultimately enhancing patient care.

Thesis, Research, and Quality Improvement Projects.

PGY4 and 5 residents have 4-week rotations to meet the thesis requirements. They will use this time to research and write their thesis.
Residents are encouraged to engage in clinical research alongside faculty members and to present their findings in international conferences and pursue publications. The program underscores the importance of patient safety through its emphasis on quality improvement projects.

Wellness sessions

Wellness training in our residency programs combats resident burnout by teaching stress management and resilience, critical for long-term career sustainability. By integrating wellness, these programs emphasize mental health as fundamental to professional competence, aligning with ACGME-i’s focus on holistic physician development. Such training fosters a supportive culture, encourages discussion about mental health, and destigmatizes seeking help. Ultimately, prioritizing resident wellness enhances patient care, as well-supported doctors are more likely to deliver high-quality, empathetic services.

Pedagogy

The overriding goal of this course is for residents to develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to effectively understand and integrate core concepts in medical education into your work as a physician. By offering opportunities for residents to hone their skills in areas such as clinical reasoning, giving feedback, and assessing junior trainees and learners, we aim to strengthen the physician workforce and promote the delivery of high-quality health care in Vietnam.

Simulation

The integration of simulation into residency training is of paramount importance and is required by ACGME-I. It bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and clinical practice, allowing residents to apply and integrate both technical and communicative skills in a risk-free environment. This method of training supports competency-based education and allows for the assessment of residents in a variety of clinical scenarios, ensuring that they meet specific competencies before advancing in their training or performing certain procedures on patients.
Technical skills in a simulation curriculum refer to the hands-on abilities that residents must acquire to perform procedures and manage clinical tasks effectively. These skills range from basic techniques such as suturing and catheter placement to more complex procedures like cardiac resuscitation, trauma care and laparoscopic surgery.
Communication skills training offers residents opportunities to engage in role-playing scenarios that mimic real-life interactions with peers or standardized patients, including breaking bad news, obtaining informed consent, and collaborative decision-making in multidisciplinary teams. These scenarios help residents develop empathetic communication, assertiveness, and conflict resolution skills.