General Secretary Xi Jinping gave an update on his "Healthy China" initiative in his address at the recent CPC National Congress. He envisioned a greatly enhanced national healthcare system, one that starts with more doctors. But some final year medical students are not so sure about the role they'll play, if any. CGTN'S Mark Fontes takes a closer look.

 

Wang Fei and Xu Yu are in their final year of medical school, but have mixed feelings about entering the professional world.

 

WANG FEI MEDICAL STUDENT, PEKING UNIVERSITY "I'm worried about this really. It is true that many medical students just don't want to be a doctor here.

 

XU YU MEDICAL STUDENT, PEKING UNIVERSITY "Sometimes we do not know which field is more promising."

 

Both say working abroad is an attractive option, at least in the short term.

 

XU YU MEDICAL STUDENT, PEKING UNIVERSITY "Choosing the right direction or the future research field is very difficult for me."

 

The World Health Organization reports that for every practitioner in China, there are close to 1,000 potential patients, a ratio that's well outside the world's top 50. Yet many recent graduates say it's very difficult to find work in Chinese hospitals, both public and private. So President Xi, in his Healthy China Initiative, has once again vowed to change the culture of the nation's healthcare system. Wang Yun, director of Peking University's Health Science Center, says this starts with their soon-to-be doctors.

 

WANG YUN DIRECTOR, PEKING UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER "We established a new curriculum, centered around training innovative medical talent. Measures include building a problem-based learning system; introducing humanities education; strengthening scientific research; and reforming assessment systems."

 

President Xi pledges to enhance basic healthcare, improve services and develop a sound modern hospital management system to go hand-in-hand with hiring more doctors. But many feel those days are still years away. Second year medical students, Luo Chao and Li Yuzi say they're going to take small steps and plan their careers accordingly.

 

LU CHAO MEDICAL STUDENT, PEKING UNIVERSITY "I think you don't need to worry about employment if you are interested and good enough in a certain field. Besides, I'm sure I can learn quite a lot at PUHSC which is a good platform."

 

LI YUZI MEDICAL STUDENT, PEKING UNIVERSITY "I hope to stay in the big cities after graduation since I still need to learn a lot and improve myself. After I become a professional expert, I may move to remote areas to help more people."

 

WANG YUN DIRECTOR, PEKING UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER "The goal is to help students understand, to love medical science, to master basic medical knowledge, to establish humanistic care and professionalism, and to lay the foundation for related medical work which is praised as the core and foundation of medical education."

 

Goals, that if reached, may have China's up-and-coming graduates returning home after getting experience oversea.

 

WANG FEI MEDICAL STUDENT, PEKING UNIVERSITY "I still want to live in Beijing, I like this city and my country."

 

MARK FONTES BEIJING "And with the changing landscape of health care here in China, these doctors of the future and millions of others hope to steer things in the right direction moving ahead. Mark Fontes, CGTN, Beijing.