Circular No. 26/2020/TT-BYT amends and supplements certain Articles of Circular No. 22/2013/TT-BYT dated August 9, 2013, issued by the Minister of Health, guiding continuous training for health workers.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 22/2013/TT-BYT dated August 9, 2013 of the Minister of Health guiding continuous training for health workers

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Pursuant to the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment dated November 23, 2009;

Pursuant to the Education Law dated June 14, 2019;

Pursuant to Decree No. 75/2017/NĐ-CP dated June 20, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

Pursuant to Decree No. 131/2020/NĐ-CP dated November 2, 2020 of the Government stipulating the organization and operation of clinical pharmacy at healthcare facilities;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Training;

The Minister of Health issues this Circular amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 22/2013/TT-BYT dated August 9, 2013 of the Minister of Health guiding continuous training for health workers.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 22/2013/TT-BYT dated August 9, 2013 of the Minister of Health guiding continuous training for health workers

1. Amending and supplementing Clause 2 of Article 2 as follows:

"2. This Circular shall not apply to:

a) Courses for awarding academic degrees in the field of health;

b) Updating knowledge courses in the field of pharmacy, except for continuous training in clinical pharmacy as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 14 of Decree No. 131/2020/NĐ-CP dated November 2, 2020 of the Government stipulating the organization and operation of clinical pharmacy at healthcare facilities;

c) Courses for upgrading qualifications according to occupational titles and pre-appointment training for leadership positions."

2. Repealing Clause 5 of Article 6.

3. Supplementing Clause 6 of Article 6 as follows:

4. To amend and supplement Article 7 as follows:

"6. The conversion of continuous training time as prescribed in Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of this Article shall be decided by the head of the continuous training institution based on the program, duration, and specialized content of the continuous training and other current regulations."

"Article 7. Requirements for continuous training programs and materials

"1. Continuous training programs and materials shall be developed, reviewed, and issued by the continuous training institution in accordance with Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article.

2. Requirements for continuous training programs:

a) Continuous training programs shall be developed in accordance with the guidelines set out in Section A of Appendix No. 01 attached to this Circular;

b) Continuous training programs must be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure scientific accuracy and relevance to practical needs;

c) For continuous training programs in the field of medical examination and treatment, they must be consistent with the list of technical skills assigned to the continuous training institution or consistent with the level of training in the fields and specialties that have been approved for education by the educational institution.

3. Requirements for continuous training materials:

a) Continuous training materials must be developed based on the continuous training programs already issued by the continuous training institution;

b) Continuous training materials must be developed in accordance with the guidelines set out in Section B of Appendix No. 01 attached to this Circular;

c) Continuous training materials must be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure scientific accuracy and relevance to practical needs.

4. Process for developing continuous training programs and materials:

a) Step 1. Determining training needs and content: The continuous training institution conducts surveys to determine the training needs and content for developing the training programs and materials;

b) Step 2. Establishing a drafting board for continuous training programs and materials: The head of the continuous training institution decides to establish a drafting board for continuous training programs and materials. The number and criteria for members of the drafting board are determined by the head of the continuous training institution but must ensure that the qualifications of the members participating in the drafting board are not lower than the level of the training program being developed;

c) Step 3. Organizing the development of continuous training programs and materials: The drafting board for continuous training programs and materials develops the training programs and materials in accordance with Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 7 of this Circular;

d) Step 4. Reviewing continuous training programs and materials: The head of the continuous training institution establishes a review board for continuous training programs and materials. The review board must have a minimum of five members including the Chairperson, two opposing members, one secretary member, and other members. Among them, the members of the review board cannot be members of the drafting board for the training programs and materials and their qualifications must not be lower than the level of the training program being developed;

e) Step 5. Issuing continuous training programs and materials: The head of the continuous training institution signs a decision to issue the training programs and materials after they have been evaluated and found satisfactory by the review board specified in Point d of this Clause; publicly announcing the training programs and materials on the website of the training institution.

5. Continuous training institutions may use continuous training programs and materials from other continuous training institutions that have been issued after obtaining written consent from those institutions."

6 ||| 7. Amend and supplement Article 9 as follows:

6. Repealing Article 8.

"Article 9. Continuous training instructors

Continuous training courses must have sufficient instructors meeting the following requirements:

1. At least 24 months of continuous professional experience up to the date of teaching, appropriate to the teaching specialty; the instructor's professional level must not be lower than the level of the trainees participating in the course.

2. Instructors for clinical practice training must have a professional practice certificate and a scope of professional activities consistent with the training program and target audience.

3. Continuous training instructors must be trained in medical teaching methods as guided by the Ministry of Health. For clinical practice training instructors, they must be trained in clinical teaching methods as stipulated in Circular No. 11/2019/TT-BYT dated June 17, 2019 of the Minister of Health regarding the training of clinical teaching methods for instructors in practical training in the health sector."

9. Amend and supplement Article 13 as follows:

8. Repealing Articles 10, 11, and 12.

1. The head of the continuous training institution shall be responsible for developing the annual continuous training plan in accordance with Appendix No. 02 issued together with this Circular and publicly disclosing it on their own electronic information website before organizing continuous training.

2. The continuous training institution shall be responsible for publicly disclosing on its own electronic information website the following information about continuous training:

a) The program of each continuous training course;

b) The list of lecturers and teaching assistants of each continuous training course;

c) The list of students who have been granted Certificates or Certificates of Participation in each course.

3. Annually, before December 15, the continuous training institution shall be responsible for submitting a written report to the Ministry of Health (Department of Science, Technology and Training) and simultaneously reporting to the Provincial Department of Health where the continuous training institution falls under the management authority of that Department. The report must include all contents regarding the name of the course, the target group, the number of participants, the number of Certificates or Certificates of Participation issued; the results of organizing domestic and international scientific seminars and conferences with Certificate issuance, the number of certificates issued for this content; the organization and management work of training.

10. Amend and supplement Article 14 as follows:

Article 14. Confirmation of participation in continuous training

1. Confirmation of participation in continuous training shall be carried out in one of the following two forms:

a) Continuous training certificate issued by the continuous training institution to students participating in the course according to the form prescribed in Clause 1, Article 6 of this Circular when meeting the requirements of the course. Courses for issuing continuous training certificates must have programs and training materials that are developed, reviewed and issued in accordance with Article 7 of this Circular;

b) Continuous training certificate of participation issued by the continuous training institution to students participating in the course according to the forms prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Article 6 of this Circular when meeting the requirements of the course.

2. Model Continuous Training Certificates and Certificates of Participation are attached to this Circular at Appendices No. 03 and No. 04.

11. Amend and supplement Article 15 as follows:

"Article 15. Responsibilities for managing continuous training activities

1. The Ministry of Health shall uniformly manage continuous training activities for health staff nationwide.

2. The Science, Technology, and Training Department shall be responsible for:

a) Organizing the implementation and guiding the execution of this Circular;

b) Continue to manage and monitor institutions that have been granted continuous training codes prior to the effective date of this Circular;

c) Conduct inspections of continuous training activities organized by continuous training institutions nationwide in accordance with regulations and recommend competent authorities to handle cases of non-compliance with the provisions of this Circular in accordance with the law.

3. Provincial Departments of Health shall be responsible for:

a) Organize and guide the implementation of this Circular within their jurisdiction;

b) Continue to manage and monitor institutions that have been granted continuous training codes under their management authority prior to the effective date of this Circular;

c) Carry out or coordinate with the Ministry of Health in inspecting continuous training institutions within their jurisdiction in accordance with regulations and recommend competent authorities to handle cases of non-compliance with the provisions of this Circular in accordance with the law.

4. Continuous training institutions shall be responsible for:

a) Organizing continuous training activities in accordance with this Circular and being accountable under the law for the organization of continuous training at their institution;

b) Appointing staff to organize and manage continuous training activities of the unit under the responsibility of the unit's leadership;

c) Managing course files (plans, programs, materials, lecturer lists, enrollment announcements, student files, decisions and related documents serving training purposes); managing the issuance of Certificates and Certificates of Participation in accordance with the provisions of this Circular;

d) Reporting on continuous training activities in accordance with Clause 3, Article 13 of this Circular.

12. Repeal Article 17 and Article 19.

Article 2. Transitional Provisions

1. Institutions that have been granted continuous training codes (codes A, B, C) prior to the effective date of this Circular may continue to use these codes to organize continuous training.

2. Institutions that submitted applications for continuous training institution codes prior to the effective date of this Circular shall have their applications processed by the Ministry of Health and the Provincial Department of Health in accordance with Circular No. 22/2013/TT-BYT dated August 9, 2013, guiding continuous training for health staff.

3. For national target programs and domestic and foreign health projects implementing continuous training activities, the person in charge of these programs and projects must cooperate with continuous training institutions to implement continuous training in accordance with this Circular.

Article 3. Effectiveness

1. This Circular takes effect from March 1, 2021.

2. Repeal Clause 5, Article 6; Articles 8, 10, 11, 12, 17, and 19 of Circular No. 22/2013/TT-BYT dated August 9, 2013, guiding continuous training for health staff, from the date this Circular comes into force.

Article 4. Responsibilities for Implementation

The Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Training, the heads of units under and affiliated with the Ministry of Health; the Directors of Provincial Departments of Health, and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular. In the process of implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies, organizations, and individuals are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Health (Department of Science, Technology and Training) for consideration and resolution.

In the process of implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies, organizations, and individuals are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Health (Department of Science, Technology and Training) for consideration and resolution./.