Before participating in military service, citizens must undergo pre-enlistment health check-ups. Vietnamese citizens who meet the health requirements will be conscripted for enlistment according to legal regulations.
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Vietnam: Regulations on pre-enlistment health check-up (Illustration)
According to the regulations in Joint Circular 16/2016/TTLT-BYT-BQP, the pre-enlistment health check-up is conducted in two steps: Preliminary check-up and detailed examination:
Step 1: Preliminary check-up at the commune-level health station
Here, citizens undergo health check-ups to detect cases of physical weakness, deformities, and conditions eligible for exemption from conscription.
Diseases eligible for exemption from conscription include Mental illness; Epilepsy; Parkinson's disease; Blindness in one eye; Deafness; Residuals of bone tuberculosis; Leprosy scars; Malignant tumors and malignant blood diseases; HIV infection; Severe and extremely severe disabilities.
Step 2: Detailed health examination at the district-level health center
Specifically, in this step, Vietnamese citizens undergo a detailed examination of physical health; pulse, blood pressure; vision; hearing, nose, throat; dental and oral health; internal and neuropsychiatric health; surgery, dermatology, laboratory tests... as follows:
- Physical examination: Remove hats, shoes, clothes. During the physical exam, citizens must be barefoot and bareheaded; males must remove all long clothes, wear only shorts; females wear long pants and thin shirts. Citizens measure height, weight, chest circumference, and calculate BMI (the relationship between height and weight).
- Eye examination: Cover one eye and read the letter chart. Citizens must cover one eye with a piece of cardboard, read the letters on the chart in less than 10 seconds. The distance between the chart and the reader is 5m.
- Dental examination: Check for cavities, missing teeth, and oral diseases. Citizens are checked for cavities, missing teeth, including the condition of false teeth. Additionally, checks for oral diseases like pulpitis, necrotic pulp, apical periodontitis, etc.- Ear - Nose - Throat examination: Measure hearing when whispering, normal talking. Additionally, citizens are checked for chronic pharyngitis, vestibular dizziness, etc.
- Neuropsychiatric and neurological examination: Check for sweaty hands and feet. Besides checking for sweaty hands and feet, citizens are checked for muscle atrophy, myasthenia, and muscle tics (manifested by eye, mouth, or lip twitches).- Internal medicine examination: Check blood pressure, pulse, bronchitis, and heart diseases. For blood pressure checks, citizens' blood pressure is measured using a blood pressure monitor; for pulse checks, they are examined by radial pulse or by running in place at 10-12 steps in 5 seconds, running for 5 minutes...
- Dermatological examination: Diagnose based on skin symptoms. Based on skin symptoms to diagnose, aiming to detect skin fungus, lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, syphilis...
- Surgical examination: Inspect for hemorrhoids individually. One of the steps in the surgical exam is to inspect hemorrhoids; and be conducted individually in a well-lit place. Additionally, checks for flat feet and varicocele are conducted.
- Gynecological examination: Only for female citizens. The gynecological examination is only for female citizens, must be arranged in a private, serious examination room; aims to have female specialists in charge.
The above process includes steps for pre-enlistment health check-ups that citizens must undergo. This ensures the health of citizens before enlistment, providing the best health conditions for training and education.
Legal Basis: Joint Circular 16/2016/TTLT-BYT-BQP
Ngoc Tai
