New center to solve shortage of ultrasound doctors

China has 130,000 registered ultrasound doctors but needs 100,000 to 150,000 more, experts told the two-day China Ultrasound Diagnosis Seminar which ended in the city on Sunday.

To help solve the shortage, an ultrasound technician training center has been established in Shanghai with the cooperation of Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences and Shanghai No. 6 People’s Hospital.

“Different from physicians doing computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI), ultrasound checks mainly depend on a doctor’s own processing and personal experience and capability instead of the machine,” said Dr Hu Bing from Shanghai No. 6 People’s Hospital. “There are much higher requirements for quality and quantity for training. However there are only dozens of classes in the medical schools, which is far from enough.”

The new center will specifically cultivate and train professionals doing ultrasound to ease the talent shortage and benefit the patients, officials said.