World's doctors learn in Shanghai
More international medical students and doctors are coming to Shanghai for training or internships along with the development of China's medical capabilities, said Dr Pan Changqing, president of Shanghai Chest Hospital.
“In the past, it was Chinese doctors going all the way to the West to learn the latest technology and surgical methods. It was hard to believe that foreign doctors would come to China to learn skills one day,” Pan said.
“Mutual communication and exchanges have become routine in the current medical field,” said Pan ahead of the Sino-East European Chest Disease Summit in the city this weekend. International medical specialists in thoracic surgery, tumors, respiration, radiation, pathology and nursing will participate in the two-day meeting to discuss the latest therapies and improvements.
“Many of our doctors are invited abroad to showcase surgery and participate in international research,” he said.
Medical students and doctors from other countries and regions also apply to learn from Chinese doctors, who carry out much more operations and meet more patients than in their home countries.
“Over 90 percent of thoracic surgeries in our hospital are carried out through minimally invasive methods, which are developing more quickly than in hospitals in Europe. Our doctors are much more experienced because of the large quantity of patients in China,” said Dr Fang Wentao, director of Shanghai Chest Hospital’s thoracic surgery department. “We have a wider coverage of surgery from open-chest surgery to robotic surgery. All operational methods and skills can be learnt at our hospital, which has made a comprehensive training mechanism for international interns from three months to two years.”
Eldja Mimini, an Albanian student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of Medicine, said she is impressed by the efficiency and high-end skills of doctors at the hospital and had witnessed many skilful surgeries in a short period of time.
“It is amazing,” she said.
Many international doctors take what they learn in Shanghai back to their hometowns.
Dr Emmanouil Georgiannakis from Greece carried out the first lung cancer surgery using thoracoscopy in Greece after spending a year as an intern at the Shanghai Chest Hospital.
These international interns become a bridge between China and other countries and help more international colleagues to get to know Chinese hospitals and doctors for further cooperation, local doctors said.
Eldja Mimini (second from right), an Albanian student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, is with other international interns to learn from a Chinese surgeon at Shanghai Chest Hospital.
Dr Fang Wentao (right), director of Shanghai Chest Hospital’s thoracic surgery department, teaches Dr Luigi Ventura (second from left) from Italy.
