A few weeks ago Dr. Richard Saint Cyr of the My Health Beijing blog wrote a quick how-to guide for expat medical doctors who wanted to work in China where he explained that while the process itself is long, its not complicated and that the biggest challenge is really tracking down an employer. There are really no good resources for finding out what healthcare employers are hiring in China so would-be China expat physicians are stuck calling China based expat clinics late at night hoping to catch someone who can direct them to the hiring office.
There is, however, another route that would be China-based doctors can take; Chinese medical school. GoChengdoo recently profiled , a Guyanese medical student, who after earning a U.S. degree in pharmacology pursued three years of medical studies at Sichuan University’s Huaxi Campus while also studying the Chinese language. Uon, who recently graduate from Huaxi this year, chose to take classes in Chinese instead of English, reasoning that if he wanted to work in China it would be well worth it to know how to speak the language of his future colleagues:
I studied [Chinese] for one year. It wasn’t enough [to study medicine]. It still poses some problems. But if you study hard, if you really want to achieve this goal, you can do it. Studying for one year [means] you’re studying to say, like, nihao. [Then] you go to class, and you hear things like “cell”—xibao; “protein”—danbaizhi; ganzang—”liver.”
At first Uon faced inevitable road blocks. He was not given any special privileges just because he wasn’t a native Chinese speaker, and had to pass the end of year finals just like everyone else:
And then during the exam you have to read and write Chinese. The first year I failed math, chemistry, and biology, but after that it became easier.
Still the benefits of going through all the mafan are that he gets to look forward to a very favorable business climate:
What are the sunny sides of being a foreigner in China?
China as a whole is a large population, you are gonna have more patients. This is one of the best things: You are going to see a lot of strange things. I’ve seen a guy who hasn’t brushed his teeth for like six years! He had all kinds of crap in his teeth. You don’t see that back in the U.S. And we get to see all that new technology from the U.S. first. The teacher would try to use English to explain stuff—that’s kind of cool. Special attention.
As far as enrolling in the program, that part is still a little tricky. It will often take one actually coming to the actual campus and figuring out who to talk to. If you are working withing a university setting, ask administrators at your various health schools to see who has had China experience. They might know a China colleague to talk to, and this will save you a lot of time and money.
Be sure to check out the full interview with Uon Thomas Sandiford at GoChengdoo.
Dan Sandoval took the above featured portrait. For more on his work visit his website – Dan Sandoval.com
I am starting my med degree here at Zhejiang University this year. I have already done a full 4 year uk-based degree in Chinese studies, and just cannot fathom doing something like medicine in Chinese. I think his pharmaceutical background would have helped a lot in this way…..going fresh into chinese med school with only basic science and little mandarin would decimate 99%, so fair play to this guy. Although i cannot understand why he would want to limit himself to working in a chinese environment, it sounds pretty awful for many doctors vs that in other countries.
Julian
First off, We would love to hear about your experience in Zhejiang. Second, I totally agree, the route Onu has taken would throw off most people. Frankly I’m surprised to see anybody trying it. I should be clear on the point of his career options. He is not abl to work in the Chines healthcare system, oy within foreign owned clinics and it’s a very steep hill to climb for anyone wishing to opentheir own clinic.
Why is he not “able” to work in the Chinese healthcare system?
Foreign physicians are not allowed to work in Chinese hospitals and clinics in a caregiver capacity. In order to work in China, physicians have to work in foreign owned hospitals.
We would love to hear about your experience in Zhejiang. Second, I totally agree, the route Onu has taken would throw off most people. Frankly I’m surprised to see anybody trying it. I should be clear on the point of his career options. He is not abl to work in the Chines healthcare system, oy within foreign owned clinics and it’s a very steep hill to climb for anyone wishing to opentheir own clinic.
I totally agree, the route Onu has taken would throw off most people. Frankly I’m surprised to see anybody trying it. I should be clear on the point of his career options. He is not abl to work in the Chines healthcare system, oy within foreign owned clinics and it’s a very steep hill to climb for anyone wishing to opentheir own clinic.
I should be clear on the point of his career options. He is not abl to work in the Chines healthcare system, oy within foreign owned clinics and it’s a very steep hill to climb for anyone wishing to opentheir own clinic.