Source: The Third Affiliated Hospital
Written by: The Third Affiliated Hospital
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On the afternoon of November 2, 2015, the delegation led by Ola Björgell, Associate Professor at Lund University and Chief Medical Expert at Skåne, Sweden, visited the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU), accompanied by Professor Jianxun Huang, officer of the Health Department of Guangdong Province. Dr. Qi Zhang, Deputy Director of Office of International Cooperation & Exchange of SYSU and Director of Discipline Construction and International Cooperation Office at the Third Affiliated Hospital, and Dr. Shangrong Li, Vice Chief of Continuing Education Section and Deputy Director of the Anesthesia Department at the Third Affiliated Hospital, and other relevant faculties met with the guests at the hospital conference room.

 Group Photo

First, Dr. Qi Zhang expressed a warm welcome to Professor Björgell and the delegation on behalf of the hospital. Staff from Discipline Construction and International Cooperation Office introduced the history and current development of our hospital to the visitors. The rapid development and achievements during the past ten years were applauded by Professor Björgell. Then, Professor Björgell gave a brief introduction to the current developments of large-scale hospitals in Swedish cities, then he talked about the Swedish specialist training program in detail, which includes the program structure, curriculum design, student-faculty interaction, evaluation system, learning environment and program length. Afterwards, Dr. Shangrong Li introduced the current situation of specialist training in our hospital and China. The two sides had a lively and in-depth discussion on student-faculty interaction engagement, the effective management of medical training resources, and both the similarities and differences in specialist training systems in Sweden and China. Hoping through further communication, the two sides can build win-win cooperation.
 
After the discussion, the guests visited Radiology Department in the company of Professor Jin Wang, Director of Diagnostic Imaging Division and Deputy Director of Radiology Department. The Swedish experts showed great interest in the large advanced medical imaging equipment, and gave a high appraisal to the radiology faculties and staff for their hard work.

In the end, both sides expressed hope for carrying out bilateral cooperation in joint specialist training, medical research, and establishing a stable and all-round cooperation and exchange platform.  

It is reported that Sweden has the world’s most advanced health care system featured by total medical cost accounting for small proportion of GDP and a highly developed primary care system. 20 years ago, a large healthcare system reform targeted at unaffordable care, difficult to access medical services and uneven distribution of medical resources was launched. To improve the efficiency of medical resource, strategies are focused on improving the quality of outpatient services as a way to shorten the inpatient stay. By implementing the specialist to generalist training and transition program, improving qualification of primary care provider and increasing investment in diseases prevention, the healthcare system is gradually shifting medical resource from tertiary to primary care, providing treatment according to the severity of illness and transferring patient based on a scientific referral system.

The communication between our faculties and the delegation has not only reinforced the mutual understanding of medical services and education in China and Sweden, but also built a solid foundation for future cooperation between our hospital and Lund University in Skåne, Sweden.