There is a notice board close to the entrance of our ward. Patients and their families, as well as medical staff, use it to express caring messages to each other, and wishes and hopes for their health by posting notes on the board. The notes are warm and touching: “I hope you get better soon, […]
In China, since September 2017, a new policy is being enforced which threatens prison sentences for researchers who are found guilty of fabricating data in studies that have led to drug approvals. [1] In the context of the fight against corruption, bribery is seen as a felony, particularly if the bribe is large. The new policy […]
People in China feel unable to discuss mental health problems openly […]
Appointment ticket touts are prevalent in the medical system in China, especially in big hospitals. They monopolize appointments for well-known doctors and increase prices to very high levels. The practice of ticket touting is causing many disputes and is harming the doctor-patient relationship. There have been reports in the media of doctors who have been […]
Seven months ago, when I had just started my new career as a research editor at The BMJ, I was impressed by the open peer-review model that the journal applies. It is something new to me—I searched in my mind and could not come up with any international academic periodical in my field (nephrology) that […]
China used to be “a kingdom of bicycles,” but their popularity has waned in recent years. Daoxin Yin looks at what it would take to bring bikes back […]
Recently there has been a lot of discussion on social media in China about bullying at school and the effect that it has on children’s mental health. Bullying is emerging as a pressing social issue in China, and the literature provides evidence that bullying is a globally pervasive problem. Bullying is an extremely difficult life […]
Winter is the new doctor recruiting season for Chinese hospitals. Between the end of November and February, government-owned hospitals, who are major employers, interview job candidates. Most of these candidates are medical students who are about to graduate in June or July. As well as the traditionally male-dominated surgical sector and other departments doing interventional […]
Social media based money raising platforms have gained popularity in China. Many patients and their families use these platforms to raise money to pay for medical care. However, there are problems with this approach. When they are successful, they often raise large sums of money. But this can sometimes be more than the cost of the […]
Violence against doctors in China is a continuing trend and one that many doctors are increasingly unhappy about. A White Paper about violence directed against medical personnel in China says that medical violence includes verbal and physical abuse. Nearly 59.8% of the medical personnel say that they have experienced verbal violence, and 13.1% reported physical harm. [1] According to the Chinese […]