Recommendations for the reform of medical education in China: A SWOT analysis

PHENOMENON: Numerous political, demographic, and policy changes have influenced the evolving structure of healthcare in China. As China continues to experience healthcare reform, the medical educational system should strive for parallel advancement. APPROACH: We conducted a review of the literature to describe the nature of healthcare reform in China and establish recommendations for the reform of medical education. Specifically, we aim to summarize the current challenges faced by medical education in China and identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the development of new medical schools. FINDINGS: The Chinese medical education system is currently experiencing problems in organization, training, standardization, and evaluation. New medical schools in China have an immense opportunity to be a disruptive force in healthcare by introducing business and engineering concepts into the curriculum, research enterprise, and clinical delivery. INSIGHTS: The need for physicians capable of meeting the healthcare needs of the Chinese population only becomes more imperative as the population continues to grow and change. Given the numerous challenges experienced by healthcare professionals, new medical schools have the ability to adopt strategies used by the United States, United Kingdom, among other countries, to establish a robust, effective medical education system.