The young physicians present their certificates with the Faculty's dean Richard Fedorak and the program's mentors and coordinators.
Even though summer is time off for most students, there is still a lot happening at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry (FoMD). The Faculty continues to develop collaborations with academic institutions around the world to facilitate an exchange of knowledge, skills and culture. These were busy months for several trainees from China, who participated in some of the FoMD's most recent international programs. Here is a round-up of the recent summer visits.
Young Physicians Training Program
From May until July, three young doctors from The Fourth Affiliated Hospital (Zhejiang University School of Medicine) spent time at the FoMD and the University of Alberta Hospital to learn more about the Canadian health care system and its procedures. This is the first group of trainees to enroll in this new program from the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry.
Through joint work with U of A physicians, the visiting trainees were able to compare the differences between both systems and their academic programs, ask questions and collect information for future improvement in their own practice.
Kamran Fathimani, program director for the Faculty's Division of General Surgery, helped coordinate the curriculum for the guest physicians and served as a mentor for Dong Xin-one of the visitors-through the different academic endeavors they were assigned.
"The value is in the collaboration. The program gives the Chinese physicians a way to determine how we conduct research, education and patient care in Canada," says Fathimani. "They get some tips from us, and we get an idea of what they do and learn from them as well. Their system is different from ours, so it's a good two-way learning experience."
Xin agrees with Fathimani when it comes to comparing both health care systems and finding the value of this collaborative effort.
"This program is very helpful to young doctors," says Xin. "I think there are some differences in the health systems, but maybe we can transfer some of the medical service techniques we learned from Canada to China."
Xin, who focused mainly on surgery during his training, hopes he can one day deliver specialized procedures like islet transplantation to China, in order to help their diabetic patients.
The collaboration will continue and could take some of the FoMD physicians to China as well. Fathimani adds, "In October [Zhejiang University School of Medicine] will have the second anniversary of their hospital opening so the first cohort has invited a few of our physicians to go. I'm excited to see their hospital and see their resources and patient care, it sounds like a phenomenal setting."
Xin also looks forward to returning to Canada in the future. "I like Edmonton very much. People are kind and friendly, and the surgeons helped us a lot," he says.
Global Medical Summer Program
This program invites students from top medical schools in China to experience the Canadian medical education system, along with integrated medical skills training. Its main purpose is to expose these students to a different medical system and raise potential interests for different areas of medicine or future graduate or fellowship programs, while integrating medical skills training. The students spend four weeks in medical lectures, small group sessions with standardized patients, clinical skill training, observership in community sites, tours throughout the different facilities, campus tour and cultural tours.
To launch the program this year, the FoMD received 22 students from Jilin University (JLU), Peking University (PKU), Zhejiang University (ZJU), and Third Military Medical University (TMMU). They finished their training on August 12.
The FoMD Global Medical Summer Program's first cohort.
"Overall the program turned out to be smooth and successful," says Huining Guo, director of the Global Medical Summer Program. "Based on the feedback we have collected so far they found the program quite informative and learned a lot about the Canadian medical system and culture."
Charlie Lu was one of the visiting students. He is currently in his seventh year of dentistry at Peking University. Next year he will graduate with a major in prosthodontics.
"The main idea of the summer program is to let us know the differences between the Canadian medical system and the Chinese medical system," says Lu. "Generally the medical practice is the same, but there are some small aspects that are completely different. For example, the family doctors are very important here, but we don't have that figure in China. We found it interesting, and maybe someday in Peking we will have family doctors too."
Lu also mentions they noticed their cultural differences and enjoyed some sightseeing.
"I recommend it, it's a great program. Especially to junior students," he explains. "It's a great opportunity for them to know what they're going to learn in the future and make better choices for their careers."
Lu considers the possibility of returning to Canada after he graduates. "My plan is to graduate in China and after some practice I will consider coming back. The environment here is great and people are nice. It's a great choice for a dentist."