8-year Students Research Articles

The role of different educational programs in specialty preference among Chinese medical students: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe imbalanced supply of physicians in different specialties and the decreasing number of young doctors in China have made it important to understand specialty preference and influencing factors and to evaluate the role of different programs in specialty choice and career planning among Chinese medical students to help shape the social healthcare system and ensure adequate medical practitioners in each specialty.MethodA cross-sectional study comprising medical students from 5-year and 8-year program was conducted online. Demographics, specialty preferences and influencing factors, and career planning situations were collected and analysed by the chi-square test. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed in each program to identify the association between influencing factors and each specialty.ResultsA total of 128 students (57.03% 5-year, 42.97% 8-year) responded to our survey. More 8-year students had a doctor in their household than 5-year students (25.45% vs. 10.96%, p < 0.05). The most preferred specialty among 5-year students was surgery, followed by others and internal medicine, while that most preferred by 8-year students was surgery, followed by internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology and anesthesiology. Compared with 5-year students, more 8-year students considered ‘personal competencies’ (66.67% vs. 40.85%, p < 0.05), ‘the reputation of the specialty’ (18.52% vs. 7.04%, p ≤ 0.05), ‘fewer doctor‒patient disputes’ (27.78% vs. 11.27%, p < 0.05) and ‘advice from family members’ (24.07% vs. 7.04%, p < 0.05) influential. Among 5-year students, ‘personal competencies’ was positively associated with preference for surgery and ‘work-life balance’ was negatively associated. Among 8-year students, ‘personal competencies’ and ‘work-life balance’ were positively associated with internal medicine, while ‘interests in the specialty’ and ‘broad career prospects’ were negatively related. Many students need further career guidance, and personalized tutoring was the most wanted method.ConclusionsThere was no difference between 5-year and 8-year students regarding specialty preference, but bias existed, possibly due to the influence of the real-world situation. Improving the working environment and welfare might be beneficial for developing a balanced distribution of the workforce among different medical departments. It is necessary for medical schools to develop programs accordingly to help them better plan their future careers.

Comparative study of curriculum setting between Chinese and American medical college and its inspirations: a case study of Peking University and Pittsburgh University

Objective To explore the differences of curricula setting of medical students in China and the United States, and the enlightenment for medical education in China. Methods The curriculum of the 8-year students in Grade 2010 of Peking University was compared with the schedule of medical students in the same grade at the Pittsburgh University, specifically for the number of courses, the distribution of courses, the training of innovative abilities, and the doctor-patient communication courses. All the data were analyzed by SPSS 20.0, and t test and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Results The total number of courses in the two medical schools was similar. The number of study weeks per year for Peking University was (41.6±8.7) weeks while that of Pittsburgh University was (39.6±8.5) weeks, without statistically significant difference(t=1.414, P=0.200). Courses of both universities were distributed from comprehensive courses to medical courses and from basic courses to clinical courses, and the professional courses were similar. Innovative ability training and doctor-patient communication education were reflected in the curriculum of both universities, but the training courses of the University of Pittsburgh began earlier and the form was more flexible. Among them, there was a total of 47 learning hours of the doctor-patient communication lecture in Peking University while the number of Pittsburgh University was 140 learning hours, including lectures and communication with standard patients and real patients. The difference was statistically significant (χ2=67.45, P=0.000). Conclusion After more than 20 years of medical education reform, the curricula of medical students in China have basically reached the level of developed countries. Professional courses are similar to those of medical schools in developed countries. However, it is still necessary to strengthen the cultivation of innovative ability and medical humanities education. Key words: Medical education; Curriculum; Cultivation of innovative ability; Medical humanities