Medical Education in China
We’ll explore the different medical education programs in China. If you’re interested in pursuing a career in medicine or just curious about how medical education works in China, you’re in the right place. Don’t worry, you won’t need to speak Mandarin or know kung fu to follow along.
We’ll cover the various programs available, including the 5-year bachelor’s degree program, junior college medical education, the 5+3 program, and more. We’ll also discuss recent developments in medical education and how China is internationalizing its medical education system. Whether you’re a student or simply curious, this will provide valuable insights into medical education in China.
The flamingo is ready to present the information.
The development of modern medical education in China can be divided into four stages. The first stage occurred from 1949 to 1966, when the Chinese medical education system was initially established based on the Soviet Union’s medical education model. The Soviet model emphasized the importance of basic medical sciences and clinical practice, and was aimed at producing a large number of medical personnel in a short period of time. The Chinese system established public medical colleges in 1952, and medical education mainly comprised intermediate and higher training conducted by secondary medical schools and universities. College students earned a medical degree in five years by completing three years of basic science, one year of clinical teaching, and one year of practice. Graduates could enter clinical practice directly after completing their education.
The second stage of Chinese medical education occurred from 1966 to 1976, during the Cultural Revolution. This period was marked by a stagnation in medical education due to the abolishment of the college entrance examination system. The length of medical education was shortened from five years to three years in an effort to produce more doctors to meet the country’s rising healthcare needs. Additionally, the Ministry of Health shifted the focus of medical care to the countryside, which spawned a rural doctor system that lasted from 1965 to 1975. Rural doctors were trained to play an essential role in providing basic care to the rural population, however their training was brief and limited.
The third stage of Chinese medical education occurred from 1976 to 2012, marked by rapid changes in medical education policy, and a transformation of medical education into multilevel and multispecialty areas of practice. In 1981, China began to standardize medical degrees with the establishment of a 3-level medical degree system: bachelor, master, and doctor of medicine (MD). In this system, students must earn a previous degree in order to apply for a higher degree. For example, a medical doctoral student must complete 5 years of undergraduate study for a bachelor’s degree and 3 years for a master’s degree before proceeding to 4 years of doctoral study. In 1988, some schools were allowed to admit long-term medical students who could earn a doctorate without a master’s degree. In 2001, the Ministry of Education stated that medical education should gradually expand in scale, and in the same year, the Peking Union Medical College began to recruit students for the 8-year MD degree. In 2004, the Ministry of Education officially approved 9 universities to award the MD degree. The number of medical university graduates increased rapidly, especially once university enrollment expanded in 1999.
The fourth stage of Chinese medical education, beginning in 2012, is characterized by a focus on high-quality medical education. The “Excellent Doctor Education and Training Program” was proposed by the Ministry of Health to improve the quality of doctors graduating from Chinese universities and cultivate humanistic clinicians capable of conducting scientific research. In 2014, China formally established a national standard residency training system, requiring doctors to obtain a medical degree, pass the medical practitioner qualification examination, and complete standardized residency training. In 2015, the “5 + 3” integrated training model completely replaced the prior 7-year master’s level medical degree. The new model allows graduates to obtain a medical master’s degree and certificate of standardized residency training. At present, postgraduate education in China includes standardized residency, general practitioner training, and specialist training, all of which emphasize practical skills and clinical practice.
Ok, this was the history of medical education in China. Let’s provide an overview of the different medical education programs that have been offered in China.
The major medical training program today is the 5-year bachelor’s degree program, with 132 colleges offering this program in 2021. In addition to the 5-year program, there are several other programs available, including the 3-year junior college medical education program and the 8-year medical education program.
The 5-year clinical medical major program is designed to produce qualified practicing doctors, and graduates can take the National Medical Licensing Examination one year after participating in clinical work at medical institutions, and they need to complete 3 years of standardized residency training to become doctors. An increasing number of undergraduates continue their studies to earn a master’s or doctoral degree for better employment opportunities.
The “5 + 3” model is designed for training high-level clinicians. It combines the 5-year medical undergraduate education, 3-year standardized residency training, and postgraduate education. Qualified graduates obtain a certificate of standardized residency training and a professional master’s degree.
The 8-year medical education program aims to equip students with a humanistic spirit, extensive social and natural science knowledge, solid medical knowledge, and clinical practice skills. After graduation, most students obtain an MD degree, while a small number of excellent graduates are awarded MD and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees.
Medical education in China is becoming internationalized, with the Ministry of Education pushing forward a reform of integrative-curriculum education, applying new teaching methods such as problem-based learning, and carrying out the “4 + 4” and 9-year programs. The “4 + 4” medical education program provides training to meet the public’s increasingly high expectations for health care services. Students selected for this program are talented college graduates with multidisciplinary academic backgrounds from top institutions worldwide.
In 2019, Nanjing Medical University established a 9-year medical education program, in which undergraduate, graduate, doctoral education, and standardized residency training are integrated and completed within 9 years. Graduates earn an MD degree and can become qualified doctors instantly after graduation, making it the shortest cycle from start to finish among all the medical education programs.
Thanks for reading! All information provided is based on a recent article published in Academic Medicine, which you can find the link at the description below this video: https://youtu.be/zRUNusNW768
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