College creates community internship program
Students at Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University should finish internships at neighborhood health centers in addition to interning at leading hospitals, college officials said on Friday.
The college has created the program in order to allow students close contact with residents to determine their medical needs and to improve students’ skills in preventative medicine, they said.
This program is a required course for each student majoring in clinical medicine, as the college cultivates medical professionals in disease prevention and treatment. Working at the grassroots allows students to have a better understanding of patients, including their diseases, living environment, family relationships, lifestyles and mental status.
In addition to serving in neighborhood health centers, medical students should also visit patients at their homes to evaluate their health.
“Each medical student should finish a four-week internship in the community, including patients’ family health management, community-based population health and disease prevention, diagnosis, behavior intervention and health lectures,” said Zheng Pinpin, director of the college’s preventative medicine and health education research office. “Students are encouraged to closely observe patients and use their professional knowledge to meet different demands.”
Chen Huifen, a medical student majoring in pediatrics, said: “I had thought community-based health service was very easy. It was, however, much more complicated and demanding when I really went there. Doctors must take many things into consideration while making judgments and decisions. Community doctors are not just doctors, they are also listeners, coordinators, health regulators and initiators."