The University of Medicine Pham Ngoc Thach (UPNT) was established on July 1st 2008 on the basis of the University Training Center (UTC) for Healthcare Professionals in HCM city.Since the early days of its foundation in 1989, the UTC has been assigned as a university of medicine in Ho Chi Minh city. During the past twenty-year of development, the UTC, as its previous name prior to 2008 and the UPNT as its current name, has successfully completed 14 full-time regular training courses, including 1422 general practitioners who have actively taken part in the city's healthcare system. Additionally, the University has provided more than 8000 nurses and 500 primary healthcare physicians (four-year on-the-job training course), strengthening the healthcare resources for remote and distant areas in the South of Vietnam (from Da Nang city to Southern provinces). The University's achievements are highly appreciated by the social community. As evidenced by each year, the University receives a considerable number of task requirements from the City's and Central Government's healthcare institutions located in the city, which are five- and four-folds higher than the actual number of graduated doctors and nurses, respectively. Furthermore, graduate courses and continuous medical education are regularly organized for thousands of medical specialists in various disciplines (medical imaging, anesthesiology, ENT…)The UPNT is a public university in the national education system of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which is founded according to the Prime Minister's Decision. The University is under direct administrative management of the HCM city People's Committee and under the expertise management of the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education and Training.