Emergency Medicine in China- An Australian Medical Student’s First-Hand Experience

Abstract

Medical students in Australia often participate in overseas electives as a part of their medical education. There are different views as to the value of these experiences, particularly in developing countries. The Chinese health care system has undergone repeated rapid transformations and presents unique learning opportunities for Australian medical students. Emergency Department cases observed first-hand at a Chinese tertiary hospital in December 2012 demonstrate some of the differences in health care systems including the privatization and change to hospitals becoming profit-driven, the tensions in the doctor-patient relationship and the differences in the use of analgesia. Thus, an overseas experience in a country such as China provides learning not only in clinical practice, but also in managing health care systems in a different environment.