Three VinUni Residency Programs Achieve ACGME-I Accreditation
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education International (ACGME-I) has officially recognized the success of three Residency Programs at VinUni. These programs include Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and General Surgery.
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME – I) program is one of the most prestigious and rigorous accreditations in postgraduate medical training worldwide. As a university aspiring to achieve international training quality, VinUni has been determined since its early days to strategically collaborate with one of the world’s leading universities in medical training, the University of Pennsylvania. Therefore, the training program of the College of Health Sciences is designed based on ACGME-I accreditation principles to ensure training quality.
The GME training program under ACGME-I standards is a competency-based clinical training program with specific competency milestones that GME residents need to achieve to practice independently upon graduation. Residents will be assessed for clinical competency in comprehensive workplace settings through patient examinations, treatment at practice hospitals in phased sequences.
The system not only evaluates clinical medical knowledge but also assesses treatment capabilities, surgical procedures, communication, teamwork, system-based practice, and learning competencies through daily patient care. More importantly, workplace assessments and regular feedback from clinical instructors will help residents improve any deficiencies in required competencies.
Operating a program that meets ACGME-I accreditation requirements requires substantial resources, especially in terms of faculty. The biggest challenge for GME programs aiming for ACGME-I accreditation is first achieving a 1:6 residents to pernament faculty ratio and a 1:1 resident to total faculty ratio. This requirement aims to ensure that residents receive regular guidance, assessment, and feedback on patient treatment competencies. With significant effort and close collaboration with Vinmec Healthcare System, Military Hospital 108, and National Children’s Hospital, VinUniversity has met this challenging requirement.
Furthermore, the program also requires faculty to possess teaching skills in bedside clinical teaching, evaluation skills, and feedback skills for residents. Faculty of the VinUni residents training program participate in training courses directly developed by clinical education experts from UPenn.
“We extend our warmest congratulations to the VinUni residency programs in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and General Surgery, on becoming the first programs to gain accreditation in Vietnam. Aiming for ACGME-I accreditation requires a commitment to excellence in postgraduate medical education, and most importantly a spirit of continuous quality improvement. It is a testament to the vision and commitment of VinUni leadership and faculty that their programs were able to meet such rigorous standards in graduate medical education after only a few years of concerted effort. From my first visit to Vinuni and its teaching hospitals in April, 2023, I was profoundly impressed by the passion and dedication of its program leaders, teaching faculty, and residents. Your programs can serve as a model for aspiring graduate medical education programs not just in Vietnam but throughout the region. Well done!”, said ACGME-I President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. James A. Arrighi, MD.
VinUniversity Provost and Dean of the College of Health Sciences David Bangsberg, MD, MPH statted:“With ACGME-I accreditation, VinUni has set a precedent in Vietnam for excellence in graduate medical education that is competency-based and recognized world-wide as the highest quality training currently available. The ingredients that led to this incredible achievement after only 3 years of operation were: visionary investment in VinUni’s facilities by the Vingroup, top notch public and private clinical training sites (Vinmec Times City International Hospital, Military 108 Central Hospital, and National Children’s Hospital), and a deep partnership with one of the world’s best medical schools, the University of Pennsylvania. The most significant part of this accreditation is for patients, who will be able to place their trust in the clinical care of our graduates, because the ultimate reason to pursue accreditation is to elevate the quality of patient care”.
Earlier, in June 2023, VinUniversity and ACGME-I signed a cooperation agreement to implement the accreditation activities of the three Residency Programs. Under this agreement, ACGME-I would conduct accreditation activities for VinUniversity’s Residency Programs during the academic year 2023-2024.
In March 2024, officially announced on the website, ACGME-I has certified accreditation for 12 postgraduate medical training programs globally, including 3 residency programs of VinUni’s College of Health Sciences.
According to ACGME-I, graduates from programs accredited by ACGME-I will have the opportunity to be admitted to specialized residency programs in countries with programs following the same system. The continuous attainment of ACGME-I accreditation standards for the three Internal Medicine Residency Programs by VinUni’s College of Health Sciences marks a significant milestone not only for VinUni but also for medical education in Vietnam.
ABOUT VINUNIVERSITY GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS
VinUniversity Graduate Medical Programs currently offer training in the following specialities: Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, and Orthopedic Surgery. These programs work closely with faculty from the University of Pennsylvania, a member of the Ivy League, ensuring that the curriculum at VinUni meets stringent global standards. Resident physicians at VinUniversity have the opportunity to be mentored and supervised by professors and leading physicians from Vinmec, the only hospital in Vietnam currently accredited by the international JCI quality certification, as well as other top public hospitals such as the National Children’s Hospital and the Military Central Hospital 108. All successfully admitted residents in the Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, and Orthopedic Surgery specialties receive a generous scholarship and a monthly stipend. Additionally, upon graduation, 100% of the residents are guaranteed employment within the Vinmec Healthcare System with competitive income prospects.
