First rural doctors graduate in China

Most of China’s first group of doctors specifically trained for work in rural areas have been assigned to hospitals and clinics in their less-developed regions, health and education officials said last Wednesday.

The 5,000 medical college graduates, who earned bachelor’s degrees, are expected to work for at least six years in central and western China. As more such graduates join rural medical institutions over the next several years, healthcare in rural China is expected to significantly improve.

Rural areas have long had a severe shortage of medical staff.

Since 2010, when the program started, 71 universities and colleges in China have recruited more than 30,000 students to serve rural areas, said Lin Huiqing, vice-minister of education.

After all of the students graduate, all hospitals in rural areas in central and western China will have at least one doctor with a bachelor’s degree, she said.

The central government has invested 730 million yuan (US$117 million) so far, according to the ministry.

“The central government will increase investment in the program this year so the students receive better training at school,” said Liu Qian, vice-minister in charge of the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Under the program, students who passed the national college entrance examination can apply for five-year medical majors at participating universities. They receive free tuition and living subsidies every year.

After graduating, the doctors are obliged to work at rural medical institutions designated by local authorities. They will receive an additional three years of training as they become multidisciplinary doctors able to deal with common diseases.

“We hope the program can create more qualified medical talent that can win the trust of rural residents, so they will not have to swarm into hospitals in big cities,” Liu said.

 
Cheng Dongsheng, health chief of Huaiyang county in Henan province, said all nine doctors who signed agreements with the county’s health bureau in 2010 when they were admitted to medical colleges have reported to rural hospitals and clinics.

At the end of 2010, the county, with a total population of 1.3 million, had only 21 doctors with bachelor’s degrees working in its rural areas, accounting for just 1.1 per cent of all doctors and nurses working in the rural area, Cheng said.

“We have decided to send all of them to the best teaching hospitals in Henan province for further training,” he said. “We hope they stay after the agreement of six years expires.”

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