In case you missed yesterday’s Webcast Audio Seminar (WAS) Session, here are the highlights of this session:
The Future of Family Medicine – In China
Presenter: William J. Burke, D.O., FACOFP
September 14, 12 PM EST
Objectives:
- Discuss the background leading to an emphasis on the development of primary care.
- Share the International Primary Care Educational Alliance (IPCEA) journey in China
- Discuss Healthy China 2020/2030
The purpose of IPCEA is to advance the recognition and development of primary care medicine as the foundation required to provide timely and appropriate access to quality, cost-effective, humanitarian health care for all people of the world.
Physician Training Today in China
- Complete K -12 in High School
- Matriculate into Medical School right after High School
- Complete residency of 5, 7 or 8 years
- Bachelor’s Degree after 5 years
- Master’s Degree after 7 years
- D. after 8 years
- Both 7 and 8-year degree involve research
- All degrees include a 1 year Clinical year similar to our 3rd year clerkship year
Dilemma in China
- Access
- Quality
- Cost
- Lack of Insurance Coverage
- Rising Cost of Healthcare
- Lack of Confidence in Community Clinics and Small Hospitals
Solutions
- New Government Focus
- Make people-centered health care a priority
- Increased Tax Base
- Increased Government Funding for Universal Basic Healthcare
- Decision to turn to Primary Care and the Partnership with IPCEA
- Goal to have 300,000 new and re-trained Family Medicine Doctors by 2020.
- Increase the number of Community Health Centers and Community Health Stations.
For more information on the next session or to register, please click here.

Medical education and training systems in the most countries allow doctors in training considerable individual choice about which specialty they select and where they wish to train. This flexibility is desirable to the individual, but not necessarily for the country’s health service: many countries cannot recruit doctors into certain specialties and/or to particular geographical areas. Many studies have identified a number of factors which influence medical and other healthcare careers decision making. However, only relatively recently have methodologies been adopted which examine which are the most important “push-pull” factors in healthcare professional career decision making. In this talk I will give an overview of the global issues, then discuss my own work and that of others in relation to the labour-market choices of healthcare professionals. I will conclude by discussing ways in which we can best select and support the healthcare workforce in order to start to address workforce shortages.
Facilitated Exchange on the Role of Medical Educators in Global Health System Strengthening with reference to rural health systems