Students won't take medicine

THE Medicine School of Shanghai Jiao Tong University opened its doors to post graduate liberal arts students for the first time this year, but has received no takers.

“We received a lot of enquiries but no liberal arts students applied,” a school official confirmed. “Maybe they felt they could not reach the standards.”

The School required applicants to finish five medical courses online to successfully enrol. 

The School launched its master and doctoral degrees, which taken eight years to complete,  in 2002 but they were only open to science students.

A total of 197 students have graduated from the program with clinical doctoral diplomas. All students are now working in top hospitals.

Chinese high school are divided into science and liberal arts sections with students choosing their majors at the start of study.

But in order to cultivate new doctors with a rich knowledge of natural science, bio-medicine, clinical medicine and humanity, the school decided to accept post graduate liberal arts students.

In the US, medical students spend their first four years in general universities and the next four years in medical schools. 

In Japan, students receive two years of general education before having four years of education in medical science.

The medicine school of Shanghai Jiao Tong University has already developed preparatory courses for applicants. 

It has also launched interdisciplinary courses.

“In the eight years, students will learn not only professional values and knowledge, clinical theories and practical skills, but also knowledge about health care system, information management, communication skills and critical thinking,” said a school official. 

“They will also have internships in different medical service sectors, conduct research and write papers.”

This year's applicants, who came from top universities, including Tstinghua, Peking, Fudan, Shanghai Jiao Tong and Zhejiang universities, had a background in chemistry, material science, shipbuilding, biotechnology, electronic engineering, mechanic engineering and psychology.

The school said it will continue to welcome both science and liberal arts students in the future.