PANO - An Academy for Leadership in Medicine, a joint initiative between Hanoi Medical University and the Hoc Mai Foundation of the University of Sydney, opened on May 24th in Hanoi by, under the auspices of the Australian Embassy in Hanoi.

The Academy aims to equip talented young Vietnamese doctors with the knowledge and skills needed to drive positive change in clinical care, medical education and research and provide leadership in Vietnam’s health care system.

The Academy’s training program, which will be conducted in Vietnam and Australia, will add to participants’ postgraduate experiences and build their relationships with academics from the University of Sydney’s School of Medicine.

Professor Kerry Goulston, Deputy-Chair of the Hoc Mai Foundation, said: “Young doctors selected for the Academy will play a key ongoing role in Vietnamese healthcare, particularly in providing education and training for future generations of medical students and graduates.”

 “I believe that this leadership program will help raise clinical care in Vietnam to a new level”. In the long term, he said, the program would help to make healthcare practices in Vietnam safe and sustainable,” said Professor Nguyen Duc Hinh, President of Hanoi Medical University.

The Hoc Mai Foundation, a non-profit organisation, was founded by the University of Sydney ten years ago. Professor Goulston and the late Professor Ton That Bach, former Rector of Hanoi Medical University, established the foundation’s medical education and exchange program.

To date, Hoc Mai programs have given training to more than 200 doctors from Hanoi hospitals.

Chung Anh