Over 1 million resident doctors trained in past decade via standardized system

BEIJING -- China has trained a total of 1.07 million resident doctors over the past decade, with more than 30 percent specializing in high-demand fields such as general practice, pediatrics, psychiatry and critical care medicine, according to a Chinese health official.

Zeng Yixin, vice minister of the National Health Commission (NHC), shared the details at a recent medical education forum, noting that the scale of resident physician training has steadily expanded.

He said that the shortage of medical professionals in healthcare institutions has been effectively alleviated, while disparities in medical standards between regions and institutions have been reduced.

At the end of 2013, China issued a set of guidelines for establishing a standardized training system for resident physicians.

The implementation of this system began nationwide in 2014, transforming medical training from institution-based and individually driven methods to a unified, standardized and nationally regulated process.

The NHC will strengthen collaboration between medical services and education, implement demand-driven recruitment, and continue to improve the quality of talent development, Zeng said.