MD Degree Program in China- A New Reality By: Najam Hasan
A Chinese Dream
President Xi Jinping said in his address to the nation that he wants to rejuvenate the Chinese nation to allow it to take its rightful place in the world by improvements of his people’s livelihoods through better education and healthcare services, more stable employment, a cleaner environment, the elimination of corruption and a stronger military.
A reality
Six hundred thousand (600,000) medical students are trained each year in Chinese medical universities but only one hundred thousand (100,000) actually become doctors, according to Professor Li Ling of the National Development Research Institute at Beijing University. In 49 listed medical universities in China more than 10,000 international students got admission to become medical doctors last year, the majority of them from South East and Central Asia. The financial contribution of these students is not significant to the Chinese economy, as these students are rather unprofitable when compared to what EU or North American students are prepared to pay for medical education. The other reason is, most Chinese universities are offering MBBS undergraduate degrees which is in line with the European medical education standards but not that of North America.
American medical education, on the other hand, is divided into two parts; 4 years of pre-med education with an undergraduate degree in human biology and 4 years of clinical training resulting in a graduate degree of Doctor of Medicine , MD. The United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) is a pre-requisite to enter into an American residency for both domestic and foreign trained doctors planning to work in the United States. USMLE has also become a benchmark in other regions of the world as a medical doctor's professional qualification for employment. The USA faces a probable shortage of 90,000 medical doctor in this decade, cited by Dr. Darrell G. Kirch MD, president of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). American healthcare providers prefer graduates with an MD degree and a US medical license for residency. This presents a unique opportunity to a nation that has had a message from its leader to lead in educational fields as a national pride and priority.
Number of applications in USA for 10 desired med school for 2014
Medical school (state)
|
Applicants (fall 2014)
|
|
14,648
|
||
13,536
|
||
13,016
|
||
11,286
|
||
10,981
|
||
10,204
|
||
9,882
|
||
9,713
|
||
9,412
|
||
8,656
|
*An average of 11,133 students applied at each above mentioned university. Available seats for enrollment in all cases were less than 10% of the applications received.
An average of 290 students were enrolled in 165 medical schools in 2014 but an average of 109 students graduated, totaling 18,078 for the year 2014.
*Source: Association of American Medical Colleges
Statistical data of Medical school enrollment vs. graduation
Year
|
2010
|
2011
|
2012
|
2013
|
2014
|
Enrollment
|
42,721
|
43,919
|
45,266
|
45,224
|
48,014
|
Graduated
|
16,836
|
17,362
|
17,344
|
18,154
|
18,078
|
The following is a glance at the top 25 American medical schools, their tuition fees and enrollment per year.
Enrollment in the schools of medicine with the number of seats and tuition fee
Ranking
|
Medical School
|
Tuition fee
|
Enrollment
|
#1
|
Boston, MA
|
$54,200 (full-time)
|
726
|
#2
|
Stanford, CA
|
$50,715 (full-time)
|
473
|
#3Tie
|
Baltimore, MD
|
$47,250 (full-time)
|
461
|
#3Tie
|
San Francisco, CA
|
$32,106 (in-state, full-time); $44,351 (out-of-state, full-time)
|
664
|
#5
|
Philadelphia, PA
|
$50,444 (full-time)
|
655
|
#6
|
St. Louis, MO
|
$56,212 (full-time)
|
474
|
#7
|
New Haven, CT
|
$53,540 (full-time)
|
415
|
#8Tie
|
New York, NY
|
$53,544 (full-time)
|
648
|
#8Tie
|
Durham, NC
|
$51,888 (full-time)
|
430
|
#10Tie
|
Chicago, IL
|
$47,673 (full-time)
|
356
|
#10Tie
|
Ann Arbor, MI
|
$31,154 (in-state, full-time); $48,862 (out-of-state, full-time)
|
727
|
#10Tie
|
Seattle, WA
|
$31,992 (in-state, full-time); $60,978 (out-of-state, full-time)
|
938
|
#13
|
Los Angeles, CA
|
$31,134 (in-state, full-time); $43,379 (out-of-state, full-time)
|
749
|
#14Tie
|
New York, NY
|
$47,650 (full-time)
|
650
|
#14Tie
|
Nashville, TN
|
$45,350 (full-time)
|
429
|
#16
|
Pittsburgh, PA
|
$48,792 (in-state, full-time); $50,014 (out-of-state, full-time)
|
601
|
#17
|
La Jolla, CA
|
$31,134 (in-state, full-time); $43,379 (out-of-state, full-time)
|
502
|
#18
|
New York, NY
|
$49,500 (full-time)
|
406
|
#19
|
Chicago, IL
|
$51,882 (full-time)
|
687
|
#20
|
New York, NY
|
$44,604 (full-time)
|
556
|
#21
|
Houston, TX
|
$19,650 (full-time)
|
738
|
#22
|
Chapel Hill, NC
|
$18,887 (in-state, full-time); $45,766 (out-of-state, full-time)
|
827
|
#23
|
Atlanta, GA
|
$49,500 (full-time)
|
560
|
#24
|
Cleveland, OH
|
$55,370 (full-time)
|
864
|
#25
|
Dallas, TX
|
$17,163 (in-state, full-time); $30,263 (out-of-state, full-time)
|
953
|
Source: US NEWS Medical school rankings.
|
An American Dilemma
After earning a 4 years Bachelor's of Science in human biology, some students do not pass the MCAT exam, a prerequisite for admission into med-school. Even with passing the MCAT exam, most aspiring pre-med undergraduates do not get admission to med- school due to very tough competition for a limited number of seats, as shown above. These students end up changing their career path, while a very small number seeks to study in the Caribbean Islands. The Caribbean Islands have very limited resources, few teaching hospitals, and have acquired a reputation of low academic training standards. This gives an opportunity to reputable Chinese medical schools to step up and seize the opportunity.
Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program in China
China is a power to be reckoned with. A journey that started with the manufacturing of low end consumer goods has now embarked on missions in space and the development of important innovations. Xi Jinping's Top 5 priorities for the country include, "better education and healthcare services ". This is Chinese reality, not a dream. A graduate degree in medicine in clinical science is an inevitable response to this calling to compete in the healthcare field, so China can improve its own health care sector and play its role of an emerging superpower. An MD degree program coupled with USMLE training has the potential of thousands of American medical students being recruited each year. For all we know, this could be the next best thing China has to offer the world since green tea.
Program Development
The transfer of technology is what has made it possible for China to build the infrastructure for the largest network of bullet trains in the world. Duplicating and implementing an American MD degree curriculum is essential in setting a benchmark for excellence in health care education. Universities like MIT, Harvard and Yale are already hosting cohort programs with Chinese universities in business and technology. Collaboration in the medical field will be a natural fit and will help America and China to set the standards of education on an equal footing. This cooperation is essential and desperately needed by both countries. Matching a Chinese MD program with the American counterparts will make Chinese medical doctors more marketable to the US health care sector and will attract many American students to study in China. It is a win-win scenario. The American students are capable of paying higher tuition fees compared to other foreign students while incurring a lower financial cost than at home.
Lead My World's role in the development of this academic program
It is an undertaking for sure and a lot needs to be done to overhaul Chinese higher education system with fundamental changes in the culture of Chinese academia. Lead My World's educators and executives have been actively engaged in Chinese education sector for over a decade. Lead My World (LMW) is a higher education pathway organization managing Medical Education and coaching programs at the International School of Capital Medical University, .Beijing, China and other institutions. LMW management has developed academic curriculum in English language for Chinese schools, authored and contributes in MBBS coaching , USMLE training and the development of an MD degree program for Chinese medical universities. Lead My World has the necessary relations and partners both in the USA and Peoples Republic of China to launch and execute Public Health Degree programs with medical schools and HC training institutes . For information or comments please contact the author, Najam Hasan.
najam@leadmyworld.com or Najam@ccmu.edu.cn
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