A Chinese doctor's experience of acute medicine in England

摘要

This article describes the differences in training and departmental function between the specialties of emergency medicine in China and acute medicine in the UK, based on the experience of a visiting international medical graduate from Shanghai. In June 2004, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Lord Warner (then Minister of Health) with the Ministry of Health in Beijing and the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau.1 One outcome of this MoU was a two-month attachment of four Shanghainese doctors to the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital, jointly arranged by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau.2 This article reflects the experience of one of those international medical graduates, facilitated by the RCP's International Office to undertake this attachment and will discuss the differences between the UK and Chinese medical systems with particular reference to acute and emergency medicine.