The Comparison Study Of Medical Education In America And China

China has become the world's third largest economy following the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU). However, according to a groundbreaking report by the World Health Organization (WHO) released in 2000, with data on the health systems of 191 member countries, China was only ranked No. 144 in producing good health outcomes. The unbalanced development of economy and health care in China necessitates an enhanced growth in heath care system. A key aspect of this growth is to improve medical education to prepare future physicians that are competent to contribute to the overall well-being of individuals and society in the 21st century.The modern medicine is transforming itself from disease-focused practice to address the medical, social, and economic needs of each patient. In response to this changing circumstance, medical education should root biomedical and clinical education in a set of core values that also include professionalism and humanism. The development of an education model to incorporate"Bio-Psycho-Social Medicine"will create challenges as well as opportunities in modernizing medical education in China and achieving the ultimate goal to provide better health care to our people.My thesis aims to elucidate the history, current status and future development opportunities of medical education in China. The data and conclusions of my thesis are based on literature review, comparisons and cases analyses. First, a general introduction of medical education is through comparisons of medical education between China and Western Europe as well as the USA. Second, detailed analyses are achieved by the compare and contrast between two cases: the education of medical students at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Connecticut, USA and The West China Center of Medical Sciences of Sichuan University in Sichuan, China. In conclusion, there are challenges as well as opportunities in the future development of medical education in China. Some possible approaches are: 1) Unifying education time length, 2) Revising curriculum to reflect the model of"Bio-Psycho-Social Medicine", 3) Enhancing clinical skills of medical students, and 4) Training physician scientists (MD/PhD).