Following the first ever Masters in Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) graduation ceremony held in April this year at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in HCMC, we are going to celebrate the graduation of the first ever Bachelors in SALT at the Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy on September 27th, 2022.
On this special ocassion, MCNV in coordination with fellow partners jointly organize a series of event, including a hybrid Thematic Workshop on SALT.
Time: 13.30 – 17.30 Vietnam time, 26th September, 2022.
Venue: Webinar on Zoom.
Language: Vietnamese and English
Link for registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/…/reg…/WN_bp-hce-gQju_H8iVG40lFg
Kindly register before September 22nd, 2022.
We look forward to seeing you at the event!
*The project ‘Speech and Language Therapy Development’ funded by the USAID through VietHealth is implemented by MCNV with the technical support of Trinh Foundation Australia.
Coming soon! Speech and Language Therapy special event
MCNV looking for 02 two-month full time interpreters and translators to work in HCMC and Hai Duong
Medical Committee Netherlands – Vietnam (MCNV) is looking for 02 two-month full time interpretation and translation consultants to provide interpretation and translation for bachelor of speech and language therapy students and their clinical supervisors during their clinical placements in Hai Duong, Ho Chi Minh city from in June, July and August 2022.
Detailed information is as below:
JOB DESCRIPTION OF 02 ONE-MONTH FULL TIME INTERPRETATION AND TRANSLATION CONSULTANTS FOR CLINICAL INTERNSHIPS OF THE SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY MASTER GRADUATES IN HCMC AND HAI DUONG
A COMPONENT OF THE SALT EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PROJECT BY MCNV IN VIETNAM
Budget line: Sub-Act. Sub-Act.BS4- an additional activity: post-graduate supervised clinical internship for MSALT graduates
Job Summary and Job Title
Consultants will work as full time interpreters and translators in two months of time to provide English – Vietnamese interpretation and translation for the Master graduates of Rehabilitation Techniques with Specialization in Speech and Language Therapy (MSALT Graduates) when they do their clinical internships onsite at clinical hospitals. This is a learning activity within the MSALT course by the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh (UMP HCMC) city in collaboration with MCNV under the DISTINCT project by VietHealth/USAID and with technical consultancy and technical human resource from Trinh Foundation Australia (TFA).
The Consultants will work directly with a Project team including: 1) MCNV’s Project Coordinator; 2) the Head of Rehabilitation Department at either UMP HCMC or Hai Duong Medical Technical University (HD MTU).
Duration of time and Workplace
The Consultants will work maximum 8 hours per day for 40 days directly in health settings, from July 4th to the end of September 1st, 2022. One consultant will work in HCMC and one will work in Hai Duong. Detailed work plans for each of the two positions will be provided.
Payment Range
Payment is mutually agreed and shown in a Consultancy Contract between MCNV and each Consultant.
Specific tasks and responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Project team, especially MCNV’s Project Coordinator, the Consultants will work closely with international clinical supervisors and be responsible for doing (but not limited to) the main tasks as follow:
Interpret English – Vietnamese – English for all communications between all involved parties including Vietnamese MSALT graduates, Vietnamese patients, etc. and their international clinical supervisors when the MSALT graduates work face-to-face onsite with the patients at hospitals for their clinical internships and under direct clinical supervision by their international clinical supervisors, following schedules agreed by the involved parties;
Interpret English – Vietnamese – English for all offline and online discussions/meetings/working sessions between the MSALT graduates who do their clincal internships with their international clinical supervisors when needed;
Translate teaching and learning documents when necessary and/or students’ written examinations and assignments from English to Vietnamese and vice versus.
General Requirements
The following requirements must be met for this position
a. Knowledge and skills
A minimum 02 years of proven track record in providing translation and interpretation in medical and health settings and in speech and language therapy;
Have knowledge and understanding of speech and language therapy and education;
Have knowledge about university education;
Have knowledge and skills in interpretation in clinical placement in health settings.
b. Education
Essential: Bachelor degree in English language;
Trained in interpretation and translation in medicine and speech and language therapy;
Essential: training in interpretation and translation in medicine and/or SALT.
c. Experience
Essential:
Have experience in interpretation in clinical placements in health settings;
Have experience in online meeting interpretation;
Have experience in interpretation for clinical practice supervisions;
Have experience in working in teams and individually;
Desirable:
Experience in working in universities and health settings in Vietnam;
Have experience in working with SALT international teachers/volunteers;
d. Working skills and attitude
Be available and willing to work at night time and weekend time as per the requirements of the training course’s schedule;
Have good communication and interpersonal skills;
Have ability to work both autonomously and as part of a culturally diverse and multidisciplinary team;
Be open minded for discussion and sharing;
Be flexible and resourceful;
Be motivated to work towards the objectives of the project;
Be able to work independently and in a constructive way in a team;
Be organized, able to work according to deadlines;
Have good organizational and time management skills;
Have good computer literacy and proficiency with Microsoft Office, Skype, Zoom, and various platforms such as Google docs…;
Be willing to travel to other towns/provinces according to the needs of the work.
e. Languages: Excellent spoken and written English.
How to apply
Interested candidates are advised to send their Letter of Interest, CVs and payment proposals to thuy.nguyenthanh@mcnv.vn before 5.00pm VN time on 05/6/2022. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.
Continuing Medical Education on the provision of home-based rehabilitation services
PhD.MD.To Muoi, Quang Nam Northern Mountainous Region General Hospital speaks at the opening ceremony.
In 3 days, May 20-22, 2022, in Dai Loc District, Quang Nam Province, MCNV and Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMP) jointly organized a continued medical education (CME) course on the provision of home-based rehabilitation (rehab) services for 20 trainees who are doctors, nurses, rehab technicians of the Department of Rehab, Quang Nam Northern Mountainous Region General Hospital.
In the 3-day training course, necessary knowledge and skills of the trainees’ were enhanced to provide comprehensive home-based rehab services following multi-disciplinary approach with the four-step process: assessing and identifying intervention objectives, making intervention plans, conducting interventions and evaluating post-intervention results.
The training course was structured with diverse and highly practical contents, including: guidelines on organizing and implementing home-based rehab services, theory lessons combining with group discussions and clinical practice activities on multi-disciplinary rehab, tools of functional performance assessment.
Particularly, the trainees had chances to practice steps in providing home-based rehab services for 2 patients in Ai Nghia town, Dai Loc district. These activities are all conducted through the collaboration of multi-disciplinary team, consisting of doctors, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists.
After 2 training days of theory and clinical practice at the hospital, participants were divided into four groups and practiced 2 out of 4 steps in providing home-based rehab services which are: assessment, setting intervention objectives and making intervention plans for two cases: a female patient with marrow paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and a male patient with paralysis caused by stroke sequela.
In giving closing speech for the training course, MSc.MD. Pham Dung, Country Director of MCNV Vietnam commented: Overall, the trainees are now able to distinguish the differences in the provision of home-based rehab services and hospital-based rehab services, and perform the four-step process in a logical sequence, in alignment with multi-disciplinary rehab approach and in the meantime, their understandings of rehab has become more holistic.
MSc.MD. Pham Dung also emphasized the principle of “PwDs-centered view” and reminded the trainees about the importance of interacting and collaborating with PwDs’ families to provide smooth and effective home-based rehab services.
The 3-day training course is a preparatory activity prior to the implementation of home-based rehab services delivery model under the Inclusion 1 Project, funded by US Agency for International Development (USAID) with the overall objective of improving PwDs’ quality of life. The project managing agency is the National Action Centre for Toxic Chemicals and Environmental Treatment (NACCET) under the Chemical Command, the Ministry of Defense; a project’s management awardee is the Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP). All 20 trainees will receive CME certificates granted by Hue UMP.
After the course, the trainees will conduct screening examination for 300 PwDs in commune of Dai Loc District, Quang Nam Province, of which 200 PwDs with mobility disabilities will be provided with home-based rehab services by multi-disciplinary teams of Quang Nam Northern Mountainous Region General Hospital./.
Inclusion 3 project kicked off in Tay Ninh province
In late May 2022, the National Action Center for Toxic Chemicals and Environmental Treatment (NACCET), under the Ministry of National Defence, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Department of Health of Tay Ninh province jointly held a conference to launch the component in Tay Ninh province of the Inclusion 3 project.
The conference was attended by representatives of the management awardee – the Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP) and project implementation awardees, including MCNV, Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH), Sustainable Health Development Centre (VietHealth), Hoang Duc Education Consulting Company, Disability Research and Capacity Development Center (DRD).
Implemented in the period from 2021-2026, the Inclusion project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with NACCET being the managing agency, is implemented in 8 provinces: Quang Tri, Thua Thien – Hue, Quang Nam, Kon Tum, Binh Dinh, Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai.
In Tay Ninh, the project will provide direct support to 7,500 people with disabilities, of which 75% will be benefited from the increase of quality of life indicators (approximately 5,625 people).
The overall goal of the project is built on four objectives: expanding healthcare, rehabilitation and social services, improving policies and public attitudes, reduce barriers, ensure social inclusion of PwDs and strengthening the capacity in managing and implementing activities to support PwDs at all levels of relevant departments.
At the conference, the participants exchanged the information on the implementation of project activities as planned, discussed and approved on the mechanisms of collaboration, coordination, planning and reporting of stakeholders during the implementation process in Tay Ninh province, ensuring the completion of the project objectives in terms of quality, quantity and timing.
As one of the implementation awardee, MCNV will contribute to improving the quality of rehabilitation services in Tay Ninh province through clinical skills training to 15 rehabilitation staff (12 physiotherapists – PT, 3 speech and language therapists – SALT) for a period of 6 months (June 2022 to December 2022).
The training will be carried out in the form of matching 01 coach with 01 coachee or in groups (maximum number of 3 coachees), with a coaching program tailored for each individual coachee.
SALT coaching is conducted online while PT will be coached using both face-to-face approach and virtual platform.
It is expected that after completing the training course, 15 rehabilitation technicians and practitioners will be able to provide quality rehabilitation services to 540 patients and 129 PwDs and improve the functions for 100 of these PWDs./.
9-month course in Occupational Therapy jointly launched by MCNV & Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy
A 9-month course in Occupational Therapy (OT) was jointly launched by MCNV and Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMP) on May 16th, 2022 in Hue City (Thua Thien – Hue province).
The launching ceremony was attended by representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); Board of Directors of Hue UMP; lecturers and 34 trainees who are nurses, rehabilitation technicians and physicians working in hospitals and health facilities in the provinces of Thua Thien – Hue, Quang Tri, Quang Nam, Kon Tum and Binh Dinh.
The course is part of the Inclusion 1&2 projects, sponsored by USAID with the overall objective of improving the quality of life of people with disabilities (PwDs). The project’s managing agency is the National Action Centre for Toxic Chemicals and Environmental Treatment (NACCET) under the Chemical Command, the Ministry of Defense. Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP) and Center for Community Health Research and Development (CCRD) are two management awardees of Inclusion 1&2 projects.
As the implemention awardee, MCNV works to achieve the objective of developing the new manpower to participate in the profession of rehabilitation.
Speaking at the launching ceremony, Prof. PhD. Nguyen Vu Quoc Huy, Rector of Hue UMP, expressed his appreciation for the substantial support of the Projects for Hue UMP in general and for the Department of Rehabilitation in particular in building capacity, developing expertise and providing necessary infrastructure for clinical practice of OT courses.
Prof. PhD. Nguyen Vu Quoc Huy also emphasized the importance of OT in the multidisciplinary rehabilitation model, along with other therapies such as physical therapy (PT), speech and language therapy, psychotherapy, nursing care as well as other specialties in improving health and quality of life of PwDs.
On behalf of the project management and implementation awardees, MSc.MD. Pham Dung, Country Director of MCNV Vietnam noted the important role of this 9-month training course and the indispensable contributions of Hue UMP and the trainees.
In his speech, MSc.MD. Pham Dung highlighted the significance of the course to the improvement of local rehabilitation system. The trainees were among the first receiving OT training in Vietnam. MCNV and local health facility leaders deeply believe in the trainees’ efforts to successfully complete the course, accomplishing the projects’ objectives and contributing to the capacity improvement for local healthcare workers.
MCNV Country Director, at the same time, expressed his expectation that Hue UMP will become an OT training center for the central region with well-structured short-term training courses, high quality and effective training methods, contributing to filling the gaps in human resources in the rehabilitation system.
The 9-month course in OT comprises 13 subjects, being delivered in 750 hours (225 ones for theory and 525 ones for practice). It is divided into three semesters, each lasts 10 weeks. There will be a 2-week break between semesters, when the trainees come back to their respective workplaces for self-learning and work on assignments to apply what they have learnt into practice.
Mr. Le Dai Duong, a technician from Rehabilitation Department of Quang Nam Northern Mountainous Region General Hospital, one among the course’s trainees, said that he earlier had the chance to obtain fundamental knowledge of OT through a 7-week course, with a focus on OT interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Mr. Duong hopes that the 9-month course in OT will enrich him with sufficient in-depth knowledge and skills in OT, in order to provide interventions for various diseases that his hospital commonly admits, such as brain injury, complications after accidents, spinal cord injury, etc.
Another trainee, Ms. Le Thi Quynh Van, Department of General Internal Medicine – Convalesce – Pediatrics, Hospital of Traditional Medicine and Rehabilitation of Kon Tum Province shared: There is high demand for OT services, especially from children with ASD. However, OT services are limited, most of the available rehabilitation services focus on PT. Ms. Quynh Van hopes that the 9-month course will help her hone the knowledge and skills on assessing, making intervention plans, conducting interventions and evaluating post-intervention results, in order to contribute to the development of OT services in the hospital, making OT services more accessible for people in her locality, avoiding long travels for services.
Following the launching ceremony, the course’s first lecture was conducted on May 17th, 2022 at Hue UMP. At the end of the course, the trainees will be granted a certificate of continuing medical training in rehabilitation specializing in OT./.
6-MONTH COURSE ON REHABILITATION LAUCHED BY MCNV & BACH MAI HOSPITAL
As part of the project Inclusion 1&2, a 6-month course on basic rehabilitation (rehab) was jointly kick-started on May 18th, 2022 by MCNV and Training and Direction of Healthcare Activities Center, Bach Mai hospital.
The opening ceremony was attended by Ms. Ritu Tariyal, Director of the Reconciliation and Inclusive Development Department, US Agency for International Development (USAID) – the project sponsor; Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, representative of the National Action Centre for Toxic Chemicals and Environmental Treatment (NACCET) under Chemical Command, the Ministry of Defense – the project managing agency; Assoc. Prof.PhD. Dao Xuan Co, Director of Bach Mai Hospital; Director of Binh Dinh Provincial Department of Health; representatives of the Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP) and Center for Community Health Research and Development (CCRD) – two project’s management awardees. 17 trainees of the course are doctors from 3 provinces of Quang Tri, Kon Tum and Binh Dinh, mostly working at district-level health facilities.
The Training and Direction of Healthcare Activities Center of Bach Mai Hospital is a center implementing team-based rehab technique practice with the full participation of multi-disciplinary practitioners, including rehab doctors, rehab nurses, orthopedists, prosthetists, speech therapists and a wide range of units specializing in rehab for spinal cord injury, stroke, musculoskeletal, etc.
Bach Mai hospital also possesses extensive experience in international cooperation with many organizations such as the Humanity and Inclusion, the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, etc.
The 6-month basic rehab course will equip trainees with relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes on the diagnosis and treatment of some common diseases in the field of rehab. The course consists of the following modules: functional anatomy, physiology, pathology, and basic rehab, which will be delivered through a series of theoretical lectures and clinical case analysis.
The basic rehab training course at Bach Mai Hospital aims to address the shortage in manpower, one of the biggest challenges facing local health facilities in Vietnam, providing timely and adequate support, in the meantime increasing opportunities for social inclusion, improving the quality of life of people with disabilities, especially in disadvantaged areas.
At the launching ceremony, proposals of trainees were shared and acknowledged. Most of the trainees expects the course to provide them with sufficient knowledge and clinical experiences to apply to their work effectively and contribute to the local rehab system.
The first lecture of the course was conducted right after the launching ceremony in the afternoon of the same day at The Training and Direction of Healthcare Activities Center of Bach Mai Hospital. Upon completing the course, the trainees will receive certificates on rehab in compliance with circulars 22/2013 and 26/2020 on continued education of the Ministry of Health./
Launching 9-month courses in Speech and Language Therapy, and Physical Therapy
Associate Professor (Assoc. Prof.) Nguyen Khac Minh, Rector of Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy speaks at the launching ceremony
The two 9-month courses in Speech and Language Therapy (SALT), and Physical Therapy (PT), were jointly launched by the Medical Committee Netherlands – Vietnam (MCNV) and the Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy (UMTP) on April 26, 2022, as part of Inclusion 1 & 2 projects.
The course launching event brought together participants from the Center for Community Health Research and Development (CCRD), MCNV, Da Nang UMTP, in-charge lecturers of the two courses and 48 trainees who are nurses, rehabilitation technicians and medical staff working in hospitals and health facilities in Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Tri, Kon Tum and Binh Dinh provinces.
The courses are conducted as part of Inclusion 1 & 2 projects, funded by USAID, with the managing agency being the National Action Centre for Toxic Chemicals and Environmental Treatment (NACCET) under Chemical Command, the Ministry of Defense. The Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP) and (CCRD) are two management awardees.
As the implementing partner of the project, MCNV strives to achieve several objectives, including “implementing medium-term training to provide new staff participating in rehabilitation (rehab) professional activities”. The objective will be accomplished through the cooperation with several medical universities, including the Danang UMTP.
Speaking at the event, Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Khac Minh, Rector of Da Nang UMTP said: “As one of the long-standing institutions providing rehab training in Vietnam, Da Nang UMTP has received tremendous support from international partners, including MCNV. We highly treasure the contribution of MCNV to enhancing rehab manpower in the Central and Central Highland region.”
Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Khac Minh at the same time noted that: “Based on several successful joint projects with MCNV, especially the most recent project “Developing SALT education in Vietnam”, the Da Nang UMTP hopes to make positive contribution to the 9-month courses and Inclusion projects as a whole, in order to adequately address the shortage of rehab manpower in Vietnam.
On behalf of the management awardees and implementation awardee, MCNV Vietnam Country Director, MSc. MD. Pham Dung expressed his confidence in Da Nang UMTP with strong expertise and plenty of experiences in rehab education. He particularly highlighted the modern approach and working methods of Danang UMTP in the past 5 years, thanks to the collaboration with Australian leading experts in SALT.
According to MCNV Vietnam Country Director, the two courses will provide useful knowledge to the trainees, those who are not only involved in the projects from the technical perspective, but are expected to become core manpower of rehab professionals in the long run, contributing to the betterment of the healthcare for the people in Vietnam.
MSc. MD. Pham Dung also affirmed MCNV’s commitment to seeking resources for further development of rehab human resource training in Danang UMTP as well as the rehab system.
If PT is widely known to the public in Vietnam, SALT is still a new profession. At the launching ceremony, some trainees of SALT course shared with us their feelings and expectations.
Ho Si Tam Minh has been working as a PT in Quang Tri General Hospital for three years. Minh acquired his knowledge of SALT via three fundamental SALT modules taken in college and has applied what he had learnt to provide basic support to the patients with difficulties in swallowing and speech. However, with limited understandings, he is unable to conduct SALT assessment, diagnosis and identification of intervention objectives on his own. He therefore expected the 9-month course to equip him with sufficient knowledge and skills, to provide better support to patients with swallow disorder. He furthermore hoped to possess more in-depth skills to assist post intensive care patients, especially after taking off machine ventilator.
Another trainee, Vo Thi Hoa (Thua Thien Hue Rehabilitation Hospital) said: My background is nursing, but I am so passionate about the profession of rehab that I have managed to complete a 12-month PT course earlier. I am very excited to take part in the 9-month SALT. I love SALT because it is an interesting and meaningful profession with high level of applicability in daily life. I really look forward to working in SALT after completing the training”, she said.
The two courses will be implemented right after the launching ceremony and are expected to contribute in manpower improvement of multidisciplinary rehab in five provinces, providing high-quality rehab services to the people of Vietnam./.
Enriching the resource for Speech and Language Therapy research in Vietnam
Findings from the graduation theses of Vietnam’s first 14 Masters of Speech and Language Therapy were briefly presented in a hybrid workshop titled “SALT: Sharing findings from some research in Vietnam”.
The workshop was jointly organized by MCNV and HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMP) in HCMC on April 28th, 2022, bringing together around 140 participants, including: MSc.MD. Nguyen Phuong Hien (The Higher Education Department of the Ministry of Education and Training), Ms.Ritu Tariyal (Director of Reconciliation and Inclusive Development Department, United States International Aid for Development); Professor (Prof) Doctor (Dr) Lindy McAllister (University of Sydney, Board of the Trinh Foundation Australia); Associate (Assoc) Prof.Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh, Head of the Nursing – Medical Technology Department, HCMC UMP; Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicines; MSc.MD. Le Quang Duong, Director of VietHealth, MSc.MD.Pham Dung, Country Director of MCNV Vietnam together with SALT international experts, lecturers, volunteers, clinical coach, mentors, interpreters and the trainees graduated from the course.
The workshop aimed to briefly present the research findings from the graduation theses of the first Master of SALT (MSALT), HCMC UMP. The completion of the course marks a historic milestone of SALT in Vietnam, since it is the first time MSALT curriculum is provided in the country. This achievement is an outcome of the project “Developing SALT education in Vietnam” sponsored by USAID via VietHealth and implemented by MCNV with the technical support from the Trinh Foundation Australia.
Since its rollout in late 2017, thanks to the thorough preparation and active participation of multi stakeholders, especially the Ministry of Education and Training and Ministry of Health, the first MSALT training program was kick started in November 2019 and accomplished its goal in November 2021 when all the 14 trainees successfully completed their graduation thesis defense.
Their research cover a wide range of topic in SALT, ranging from aphasia, experiences in self-help and help-seeking of families who have children with communication disability, experience of community-based rehab staff, stuttering in adults, normative data for the Vietnamese language screener for four-year-old, speech sound characteristics of children with speech sound disorders, etc.
In addition to sharing findings from the MSALT graduation theses, the workshop served as a platform for SALT specialists to exchange the views and present their latest in-depth research such as “The Vietnamese Asphasia Test” (Dr.Le Khanh Dien, (Asia Pacific Society of Speech, Language and Hearing) and the “Effect of dialects on identification and severity of speech sound disorders in Vietnamese children” (Dr.Pham Thi Ben – National University of Education).
Other issues related to the long-term development of SALT in Vietnam were put into discussion such as preparing for the next cohort, the significance of establishing SALT Association in Vietnam, etc, aiming at the ultimate goal which is adequately meet with the demand of patients, persons with disabilities, the clients of SALT in Vietnam.
* In the morning of April 29th, the official graduation ceremony of the first MSALT was held by HCMC UMP followed by a cordial congratulation event held by MCNV.
GSRD – MCNV new partnership to benefit over 1,000 poor women and children in Phu Yen
A conference to kick start the project “Boosting income and jobs for poor ethnic women in Dong Xuan district” (BIJPO) was held on March 25th by MCNV and Dong Xuan District People’s Committee.
Building on the achievements of the previous Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture project, BIJPO will be implemented in a period of 36 months, from April 2022 to April 2025.
BIJPO aims to tackle the new challenges confronting people of ethnic minorities living in remote mountainous areas brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. In particular, BIJPO will focus on boosting the income, improving food security via the improvement of working condition and agricultural production. The project will benefit about 650 women and 500 children of poor and nearly poor households in 15 villages of 6 communes in Dong Xuan district, and therefore, contribute directly to the realization of the National target programme on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in 2021-2030.
As part of the project, 15 new women-led cooperatives will be formally established and receive support in terms of making joint business plan and building joint assets/facilities for its production and business. Operation of the groups will create alternative jobs and income for the poor women in village who are willing to join and commit the common production plans of the groups. Potential business includes debarking machines of acacia wood; producing dry mushroom products; weaving products, etc.
At the same time, the project will facilitate 30 household agricultural production groups. These informal groups will be set up and endorsed by local commune government. Each household production group will include around 15 poor and nearly poor households. The project will provide group members with agricultural production training courses; coaching; seedlings, breeding for improving current crops or implementing alternative cash and non-cash crops. Female members will work together to improve and diversify their household agricultural production such as rearing fish, frogs, chicken, ducks, crabs and planting acacia plantation, fruit trees (banana, papaya) vegetables, or pumpkin. The improved productions aim to create both cash and also non-cash income for these households. The agricultural models will be identified and proposed by group members in accordance with local context and household conditions./.
Developing clinical coaching guideline in Physical Therapy
In two days (March 19-20), a hybrid workshop on developing clinical coaching guideline in physical therapy (PT) was jointly held by MCNV and the Vietnam Physical Therapy Association (VNPTA).
The workshop attracted over 30 in-person and virtual participants from MCNV, VNPTA, VietHealth, VNAH, PT lecturers and experts from HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMP), Da Nang University of Pharmacy and Medical Technology, Hong Bang International University and several hospitals in HCMC.
The workshop was held as part of the Inclusion 3, a project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) implemented in Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh and Dong Nai provinces, with an aim to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities (PWDs). The USAID’s prime counterpart is the National Action Centre for Toxic Chemicals and Environmental Treatment (NACCET) of the Ministry of National Defence. The implementing partner of the Inclusion 3 project is the Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP).
The quality of healthcare and rehabilitation services for PWDs are determined by several factors, of which the capacity of the services providers plays a key role.
As the project’s sub awardee, MCNV works with three technical partners including VNPTA, World Confederation of Physical Therapy (WP), and the Trinh Foundation Australia (TFA) to enhance the capacity of rehabilitation workforce in Vietnam via coaching and mentoring activities in Physical Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy.
Speaking at the workshop, Mr Tran Van Dan, the VNPTA President, spoke highly of MCNV’s extensive experiences in Vietnam, especially in the area of rehabilitation capacity building, and looked forward to fruitful cooperation with MCNV to further improve the capacity of the country’s workforces specializing in the field of PT in particular and rehabilitation in general.
Subsequently, MCNV Vietnam Country Director, Mr Pham Dung briefed the partcipants on the coaching and mentoring activities. Conducted in 9 months, the coaching and mentoring will benefit 25 health workers who are providing PT services in provincial, district levels, public and private health facilities in Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh and Dong Nai. Entrance requirement ranges from six-month certificate holders to college and university degree holders in PT.
The 160-hour coaching and mentoring will focus on clinical reasoning, communication skills to interact with colleagues in a multi-disciplinary team, up-to-date professional knowledge, advanced techniques, development of intervention plan, implementation and evaluation of intervention outcomes.
Via virtual platform and on-site coaching and mentoring, the program strives toward its ultimate goal, which is the enhancement of professional qualification of 25 health workers, who will be more confident in providing quality PT services to 900 patients and 250 PWDs.
Currently, a team of six coaches has been recruited and has completed an internationally-recognized mentoring and coaching course to prepare for the program.
In the workshop, the participants became involved in a lively discussion to develop the clinical coaching guideline and formulate a concrete plan for the 9-month program./.
