How many pharmacy practitioners can one pharmaceutical interpreter work for at the same time in Vietnam?

How many pharmacy practitioners can one pharmaceutical interpreter work for at the same time in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 5 of Circular 07/2018/TT-BYT stipulating criteria for certifying pharmaceutical interpreters as follows:

1. The pharmaceutical interpreter who satisfies the translation standards will be certified by the legal educational institution stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular; except the cases stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The interpreter will be certified as a qualified pharmaceutical interpreter if he/she:

a. Has an associate degree or higher in medicine or pharmacy which is issued by a Vietnamese or foreign legal educational institution where the teaching language is the one that the interpreter uses for his/her job.

b. Has a training certificate in medicine or pharmacy with a duration for at least 12 (twelve) months from the institution where the teaching language is the one that the interpreter uses for his/her job.

c. Has an associate degree or higher in medicine or pharmacy or in traditional medicine, and a college degree in foreign language which is appropriate with the language that the interpreter uses for his/her job.

The certificates which are stipulated in point (a) and (b) of Clause 2 of this Article shall be issued within 05 (five) years before the date of submission of the application.

3. A pharmaceutical interpreter shall work for only one pharmacy practitioner during the latter’s practice.

Thus, at the same time, a pharmaceutical interpreter may only work for only one pharmacy practitioner according to the above provisions in Vietnam.

In which cases are practitioners who obtain a certificate of fluency in Vietnamese language which they use to practice pharmacy but not required to do the test in Vietnam?

According to Article 4 of Circular 07/2018/TT-BYT stipulating criteria for issuing the certificates of fluency in Vietnamese language or other languages used in practicing pharmacy for foreigners and Vietnamese expatriates are as follows:

1. The pharmacy practitioner shall obtain a certificate of fluency in Vietnamese language from the educational institution stipulated in Article 6 hereof; except some cases stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article.

2. If the practitioner registers for another language different from his/her mother language to practice pharmacy, he/she shall be tested for that language and later be certified by the legal educational institution stipulated in Article 6 hereof. The language which the pharmacy practitioner uses to practice pharmacy shall be: English, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

3. The practitioner who obtains a certificate of fluency in Vietnamese language or in the language which he/she uses to practice pharmacy but is not required to do the test if he/she:

a. Has an associate degree or higher in medicine or pharmacy or in traditional medicine which is issued by a Vietnamese or foreign legal educational institution where the teaching language is Vietnamese or the language which the practitioner uses to practice pharmacy as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

b. Has a certificate of training in medicine or pharmacy or in traditional medicine with a duration for at least 12 (twelve) months which is issued by the educational institution where the teaching language is Vietnamese or the language that the practitioner uses to practice pharmacy as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

c. Has a college degree in medicine or pharmacy or in traditional medicine which is issued by a Vietnamese or foreign legal educational institution where the teaching language is Vietnamese or the language which the practitioner uses to practice pharmacy as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

The certificates which are stipulated in point (a) and (b) of this Clause must be issued within 05 (five) years before the date of submission of the application

According to this Article, pharmacy practitioners who obtain a certificate of fluency in Vietnamese language which they use to practice pharmacy but not required to do the test when falling into one of the cases specified above in Vietnam.

What are regulations on the educational institution permitted to issue qualifications for interpretation in the field of pharmacy in Vietnam?

Article 6 of Circular 07/2018/TT-BYT stipulates that the educational institution permitted to issue certificates of fluency in Vietnamese language or other languages, or qualifications for interpretation in the field of pharmacy as follows:

An educational institution will be permitted to test and certify pharmacy practitioners or pharmaceutical interpreters for their language proficiency (hereinafter referred to as testing institution) if it:

1. Is a university of medicine or of pharmacy in Vietnam.

2. Has a faculty of one of the foreign languages stipulated in Clause 2, Article 4 of this Circular and satisfy the requirements for testing Vietnamese as language used in a profession as stipulated in Circular No. 17/2015/TT-BGDDT dated September 01, 2015 of the Minister of Education and Training; and.

3. Has a question bank serving testing on proficiency in Vietnamese language or other languages or qualification for interpretation in the field of pharmacy.

Thus, in order to be tested and recognized to qualifications for interpretation in the field of pharmacy in Vietnam, those who have needs can seek a university of medicine or of pharmacy in Vietnam that meet the above-said conditions.

Best Regards!