APW On Technical Support For NMC

#VN041 – APW – technical support to suitable operational structures of the NMC with a focus on the terms of reference (ToR) and role of council member, standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the council and the criteria for selection and recruitment of NMC members and preparatory materials for the initial NMC workshops

1. Background:

Over the past two decades Viet Nam has had a significant expansion in its health professional training institutions and numbers of graduates. The number of universities training doctors in Viet Nam has roughly doubled since 1997 and the number of new doctors graduating yearly has increased almost three-fold since 2006. Viet Nam faces the challenge of improving the quality of the health workforce; encouraging innovation in the health education sector and increasing regional and international integration of its health workforce.

The Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030, which was adopted by the sixty-ninth World Health Assembly in May 2016, set the four strategic objectives to ensure universal access to health workforce by 2030. Establishing regulatory mechanisms, such as licensing of health professionals and accreditation of health professional training programs and alignment of international standards for health professional education are key interventions for improving the quality of human resources for health in line with the Global Strategy. Well-trained health professionals, including medical doctors, nurses, and pharmacists are critical to delivering quality health care. Strengthening the health workforce is needed for Viet Nam to implement its grassroots healthcare and other health sector reforms.

The establishment of the Council is in line with the Party Resolution 20 (No 20/2017–NQ/TW) on the protection, care and improvement of people’s health in the new situation which highlighted health professional education reform as one of the priorities for the country. The resolution includes establishing an NMC to administer national licensing examinations and grant practice certificates according to international standards. The revised Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (LET), which the Ministry of Health has drafted, includes health workforce regulation and is due for review by the National Assembly in 2021.

In July 2020 the Viet Nam government established the National Medical Council (NMC) with Prime Minister (PM) Decision (No 956-QD-TTg). The NMC will have two main functions: 1) setting competency standards for health professional education and 2) preparing the conditions for the assessment of health professionals.

In February 2021, the National Medical Council requested the WHO Representative Office in Viet Nam to provide continued support in the initial stages of the establishment of the NMC. This was followed by the signing of the second PM Decision [495/QD-TTg] in March 2021, which provided further detail of the operation and stricture of the NMC.

In the second half of 2021, the National Medical Council will have to select and recruit 27 to 29 members. Immediately following recruitment, the new members will attend an orientation workshop to understand their roles, responsibilities and the working procedures of the council. To achieve this task in an evidence-based manner, it is vital to develop a well-researched set of criteria for the recruitment of members, the terms of reference (ToR) for their role within the NMC and the operational structure of the NMC. Under the APW contract this work will be carried out by a team of medical education and health sector experts.

2. Work to be performed

a. Specific Objectives of the activity:

· Develop a policy document for the National Medical Council (NMC) with recommendations regarding the operational structure and HR policies of the council. The document will include standard operating procedures for recruitment and retention of members of the council and define the terms of reference and responsibilities of their role.

· Prepare workshop materials to support the induction of the new members of the NMC in the orientation workshop and other subsequent workshops. The materials will describe the roles and responsibilities of the council members as well as the relevant operational procedures of the council.

b. Description of the tasks/process involved in carrying out the activity:

The contracted partner will perform the following activities:

· Research and produce a report including recommendations for the operational structure and HR policies of the newly formed NMC. The document will include standard operating procedures for recruitment, retention and dismissal/replacement of members of the council and define the terms of reference and responsibilities of their role. The recommendations will be informed by research of international and national best practice, interviews and surveys of relevant stakeholders and the recent legislation relating to the NMC.

· Utilizing the content and recommendations of the report, as well as the preparatory work, create training materials and content for the initial orientation workshop and other planned NMC-related training events, in order to inform; prepare and train the newly recruited NMC members, in their new role.

Method(s) to carry out the activity

The contracting partner will use the following methods to prepare the main report and the related workshop content/training materials:

· Desk review of the national and international literature (including research, gray literature and online descriptions resources).

· Interviews and surveys of stakeholders relevant to the operational organisation of the NMC and recruitment and HR policies for the members. Stakeholders should include relevant government and non-governmental national bodies and organisation, as well as relevant international bodies and international organisations.

· Review relevant national and international legislation and guidelines

Expected deliverables:

The contracting partner should produce the deliverables specified below under the supervision of Coordinator, UHC-HLE Team, WHO Viet Nam:

· Deliverable 1: A report providing recommendations for the operational structure and HR policies of the newly formed NMC, with a focus on the standard operating procedures for recruitment, retention and dismissal/replacement of members of the council and defining the terms of reference and responsibilities of their roles. The report should include a desk review of related national and international literature; interviews and surveys of relevant stakeholders and site national and international legislation and guidelines relating to comparable bodies or organisations (by 15 September 2021).

· Deliverable 2: Preparation of training materials, presentations and content for the initial orientation workshop, some of which may also provide content for subsequent NMC-related training events. The content will relate to the findings of the report and in the orientation workshop, it will inform; prepare and educate the newly recruited NMC members, in their role (by 30 October 2021).

3. Planned timelines (subject to confirmation)

Start date: 1 Aug 2021

End date: 30 Nov 2021

4. Specific requirements

The Terms of reference for the team responsible for the APW contract deliverables:

Education required

· All personnel:

o Lecturer or researcher at a recognized medicine and pharmacy university

· Team leader:

o PhD degree in relevant areas (such as health science, medicines, pharmacy, public health, health management, education management) from a recognized university.

· Team member(s):

o At least Master-level degree in relevant areas (such as health science, medicines, pharmacy, public health, health management, education management) from a recognized university.

o Has undergone formal training in medical education

Experience required

· All personnel:

o Experiences in conducting literature review researches in health sector

· Team leader:

o At least 20 years experiences working in health education

o Experiences leading medical education reforms

o Experiences leading and coordinating team members

o Experiences in delivering presentation and facilitating discussion at high-level workshop

· Team member(s):

o At least 10 years’ experiences working in health education

o Experiences in researching writing institutional documents (manuals, guidelines, books)

o Experience carrying out the verification of educational programs or has directly organized training courses to develop trainers in the field of health sciences.

o Experiences in presenting at meetings and trainings

Language requirements:

· All personnel:

o Good command of English and Vietnamese, spoken and written.

5. Place of assignment

The contracting partner can work remotely.

6. Travel

Any travel costs should be included in the APW contract.

7. Budget

Please take note of the following when submitting application:

- The contractor will be responsible for paying taxes, if any.

Those who are interested can contact our focal person with contact detail at the end of the announcement before/by 21 Jul 2021