1. Parallel running of multiple medical education mechanisms
The basic path of medical education
is clear in China, but there are multiple ways to complete clinical
medical education (3-year, 5-year, “5+3” integration, 8-year)
[6].With the strengthening of coordination and cooperation between
education and healthcare facilities, China has gradually established a
standardized medical personnel training system that bridges college
education and post-graduation education. College education is a
prerequisite for applying to practice medicine[6]. There are two
stages of post-graduation education:
the first stage is residency training, which is now mandatory[7];
The second stage is specialist physician training, which has not yet
been fully implemented. Figure 2 shows the main pathways to
main ways to complete medical education in China.
Postgraduate degrees in China are divided into professional degrees and
academic degrees. The professional
postgraduate focuses on the
development of clinical skills during the 3 years of study. A
professional degree master’s graduate certificate, degree certificate,
physician qualification certificate and standardized training completion
certificate are awarded after successful graduation [8]. It is
allowed to apply for a professional doctoral education in following
days. Academic postgraduates receive 3 years of scientific research
training and award academic degree master’s graduate certificate and
degree certificate after publication in peer-reviewed national or
international journals. After a further 3 years of standardized
residency training and physician qualification examinations, the
academic master is eligible to conduct clinical activities in the
hospital. Continuing academic doctoral education is also an option for
academic masters. Medical graduates with an academic degree tend to
pursue medical research in the future [6].