How to create a "growth buffer zone" for medical talents in the new employment form of "management training doctors" launched by multiple medical schools?

According to a report by China Central Radio and Television's Voice of China's "News Zongheng", a new form of employment for medical students - "management training doctors" - is currently being explored and implemented in some medical colleges and hospitals. It is understood that "Guan Pei Doctor" corresponds to a "gap period" before medical undergraduate graduates grow into regular trainees, graduate students, and clinical doctors. It was first proposed by Southwest Medical University in April 2024 and piloted in June of the same year.

Since the establishment of the "Guan Pei Doctor" program, Southwest Medical University has built a "two-way" bridge between medical undergraduate graduates and grassroots hospitals, opening up a new form of employment that includes "transitional employment+clinical practice+academic preparation"; At the same time, another medical school has recently begun to pilot the "management training of doctors" program, promoting solutions to the employment and academic challenges faced by some medical students.

The Blue Book of the 2024 Chinese Undergraduate Employment Report shows that the proportion of medical undergraduate students who are unemployed has been increasing year by year from 2021 to 2023. 'Graduation leads to unemployment' has become a pain point for some medical professionals on their long journey. Zhang Chunxiang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Professor of Southwest Medical University, explained this phenomenon as follows: "The profession of a doctor itself requires strong practical abilities, and the education cycle after college, such as standardized training for resident physicians and specialized physicians, is also relatively long. With the increasing demand for high-quality health services from the people, people also have certain requirements for doctors' high education. Therefore, the employment of medical undergraduate graduates is currently facing some important difficulties, such as the high entry threshold for employers. Large hospitals generally set hard standards for the recruitment of practicing doctors, resident physician training qualifications, and master's degrees

However, in reality, meeting the above recruitment entry requirements also requires some prerequisites, such as undergraduate students being able to obtain a medical practitioner certificate one year after graduation, and those who pass the three-year assessment of regular training to obtain a regular training certificate. This means that if a medical undergraduate student fails to successfully obtain a regular trainee or graduate student before graduating, they will be in the dilemma of being rejected by the hospital. Zhang Chunxiang told Voice of China that this has left some students who originally aspired to become doctors with no choice but to take exams at home. While they are under the pressure of preparing for exams, they are also detached from the clinical practice environment. When exploring solutions to the waste of medical education resources and social human resources, the school has found a breakthrough.

Zhang Chunxiang said, "We have found that many county-level hospitals, which we often refer to as grassroots hospitals, actually have good comprehensive strength, some of which are 'third tier' and 'third tier', and have strong demand for undergraduate students. How to transform 'two-way demand' into 'two-way rush'? We have proposed the 'management and training of doctors' plan: medical undergraduate graduates and hospitals establish a' win-win contract ', open up a' buffer zone 'for the growth of medical undergraduate talents, and break the' glass door 'between medical undergraduate education and high-quality employment, building a one-year training bridge for medical undergraduate students in three aspects:' transitional employment+clinical practice+academic preparation '

It is reported that in June last year, Southwest Medical University held the first "Management Training Doctor" job fair and officially launched the pilot program. 29 hospitals from Sichuan and Chongqing attended the conference, and ultimately, 35 students signed contracts with 9 hospitals in 6 cities within Sichuan Province. The contracted students gradually came to their posts to fulfill their obligations. After a second round of selection through physical examination and job testing, 29 students were actually employed.

In June 2024, Southwest Medical University held the first "Management Training Doctor" job fair

Yao Yue, a medical imaging student from Southwest Medical University in 2019, is one of the 29 "management training doctors". After failing her first postgraduate entrance examination, she had originally decided to prepare at home for another exam. The pilot "management training doctor" program has provided her with another possibility for employment and further education.

Yao Yue said, "What really moves me is that with this year of work, we can take the medical certificate exam. At the same time, the hospital also supports us in taking the postgraduate entrance examination, allowing us to focus on our preparation. It's like studying in a clinical environment from June or July to December before the postgraduate entrance examination. Many of the hospitals we cooperate with are quite good, and for students like us who have just graduated, it's not easy to enter a tertiary hospital to study and work

On site recruitment fair for the first "Management Training Doctor" session at Southwest Medical University

Yao Yue told reporters that as a medical imaging student, she has completed rotations in the radiology and ultrasound departments at the hospital. Other clinical students have also rotated to multiple departments with the support and encouragement of the hospital, gaining valuable practical experience. Yao Yue's greater recognition of the "Management Training Doctor" program lies in the integration of clinical experience and theoretical knowledge. She praised her outstanding performance in this postgraduate entrance examination and is waiting for the final admission results to be announced at the end of April, as well as preparing for the upcoming physician qualification examination.

Yao Yue said, "I have also learned a lot of knowledge in clinical practice during this period, which is conducive to our review for the postgraduate entrance examination. Originally, imaging diagnosis was also an important knowledge point in the medical record questions of the postgraduate entrance examination. Perhaps it was because I was exposed to it, and the teachers in the hospital would occasionally explain some problems to me. Therefore, this process is constantly accumulating and learning. Some descriptions of diseases do not need to be memorized by rote, and naturally enter the brain

The members of the first "management training doctors" are participating in clinical practice in the hospital

Similar to Yao Yue's feelings and feedback, Zhang Lingping, the head of the Student Department of Pediatrics at Southwest Medical University, heard a lot when communicating with classmates who signed up as "management training doctors". In Zhang Lingping's view, the growth trajectory of medical students should actually be "interconnected", and the new employment form of "management training doctors" has achieved a more precise "closed loop" of the previously imperfect development path, thus achieving a dual improvement in the theoretical and practical training of medical students.

Zhang Lingping said

Zhang Lingping further introduced that in addition to improving clinical skills through daily training, the project also agreed on the basic benefits of "management training doctors" with the support of relevant departments, including purchasing insurance, providing accommodation and meals, etc., allowing students to personally feel the sense of achievement, honor and responsibility of integrating into society in practice. For medical students with a long training cycle, this may be a "reassurance pill" to continue to devote themselves to the medical profession.

Zhang Lingping said, "Some students have also talked about not wanting to ask for living expenses from their families after graduation, and wanting to become independent. The relevant hospitals of the 'Management Training Doctor' program will pay these students a basic salary not lower than the local minimum wage standard, which can also guarantee their basic living, achieve economic independence, and alleviate the psychological needs of their families.

Southwest Medical University conducts follow-up discussions on pilot units for "management training of doctors"

Now, the "Guan Pei Doctor" project has been running for nearly a year. According to a follow-up survey, out of 29 on-the-job students, 24 applied for graduate studies and 15 went online; All 29 people applied for the medical examination; Students who have not yet gone online or registered for the postgraduate entrance examination have expressed that they have gained a new understanding of themselves and the workplace through participating in work. The next step is to actively participate in regular training or shift to grassroots employment, which has led to a significant change in their employment concept.

During the implementation of the pilot project, hospitals also received surprises. Tang Fengming, Vice President of Wenjiang District People's Hospital in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, which received the largest number of students in the first batch of pilot projects, admitted that the project accurately combined the needs of hospitals and students, providing an effective path for hospitals to participate in medical talent training and effectively reducing the loss of medical undergraduate graduates.

Tang Fengming said, "Because they have just graduated from university and have not yet obtained a practicing physician qualification certificate, they cannot practice alone. Our doctors have to teach them, which actually leads to mutual learning. Only with teaching can teachers have self-learning. For hospital departments, they also have a certain clinical foundation during this year's clinical internship. In addition to being trained by the teaching teacher, they can also assist the teaching teacher in managing these students who have not yet graduated. The age difference is not significant, and the emotional resonance between them will be better

Southwest Medical University launches the 2025 "Visit Enterprises and Expand Jobs" special action to promote employment

It is reported that Southwest Medical University has launched the 2025 "Management Trained Doctors" project. In March of this year, the university submitted a report to the Education Department of Sichuan Province on the promotion and optimization of the new form of employment for "Management Trained Doctors", seeking support to promote and optimize the project; At the same time, Chuanbei Medical College is also piloting the "Management Training Doctor" project and has reached preliminary cooperation intentions with Guang'an District People's Hospital and Linshui County People's Hospital in Guang'an City. Zhang Chunxiang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Professor of Southwest Medical University, expressed that in the future, he hopes to jointly build a resource library of "management training doctors" and "management training hospitals" by holding a province wide job fair, achieving job sharing, student mutual recommendation, and summarizing and promoting experiences such as "standardized teaching"; Taking Sichuan as the center, mobilize and radiate the resources of county-level hospitals in Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, and Guizhou provinces, and build a replicable and promotable new form of employment model for medical undergraduate students' "management training doctors".

Zhang Chunxiang said, "This year, their identity is between doctors and students. Their sense of responsibility, employment outlook, and practical gains in clinical skills are like a building. After the foundation is laid very solid, it will have a very good impact on their entire life. This requires the government, society, universities, and students themselves to work together with full cooperation, so that we can do our work more solidly and effectively