Russian Medical syllabus/Curriculum: Study Medicine in China

Curriculum prescribed by the Ministry of Education, PRC
Course: Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)
Duration: 5 years + 1 year of internship
The medium of teaching: English however students pass Mandarin Chinese HSK level 3 or 4 (Chinese/bilingual medium is not recognized by the MCI/NMC however other countries have their own regulation regarding the teaching medium)

The academic year

Consists: 2 semesters
Autumn term: starts on the 1st of September
- Winter vacation lasts for around 5+ weeks
The winter term: starts on the 4the week of February.
- Summer vacation lasts for around 3-4 weeks.

Chinese Medical syllabus/Curriculum

Emphasis on the Chinese curricula/syllabi: It’s wise to emphasize that this Curriculum/syllabus is tentative & the subject’s distribution or teaching hours or exams might vary in different universities.
- Subjects distribution: the distribution of the subjects differs as per the version of the university.
  1. Subjects to be taught per academic year might vary: Pathology is taught in the 3rd or 4th semester.
  2. Subjects to be stacked & separated: Endocrinology is a part of Internal medicine, however, Neurology + neurosurgery are stacked together here in China.
- Teaching hours: teaching hours also differ as per the university.
- Exams: the pattern, distribution & weightage of the exams differ as per the university.
Education purpose: The professional training in the coming 6 years will help students acquire new knowledge, attitudes, and skills to become specialized personnel in medical services, education, and scientific research.
Length of Schooling: The program of international clinical medical undergraduate integrates the biological, social, and clinical sciences over a six-year period.
Courses division and Credit Allocation:

Courses division		Theoretical Teaching
Courses division		Hours	Credits	%
1. General Education	Required	530	29	17.15
2. Basic Medical Courses	Required	1326	69.5	42.90
4. Major Courses	Required	1011	52	32.71
4. Elective Medical Courses	Elective	224	12	7.24
Total		3091	162.5	100

NB: distribution of the subjects/semester, teaching hours, pattern + mark distribution of the exams & credits differ from university to university.
Practical Teaching:

1. Hours of practicing in class: 1013 hours.
2. Clinical Internship for 48 weeks (48 credits)

Graduation Requirements: Students must complete at least 204 credits.
General Education (required)

Courses	Credits	Hours Distribution			Semester
Courses	Credits	Total	Lecture	Practice	Semester
1. Chinese Language A	3.5	54	54		1
2. Computer Concepts	1.5	36	18	18	1
3. Physics	3	72	36	36	1
4. General Chemistry	3.5	72	48	24	1
5. Chinese Language B	4	64	64		2
6. Medical Ethics	2	32	32		2
7. Organic Chemistry	3.5	72	48	24	2
8. Chinese Language C	4	64	64		3
9. Chinese Language D	4	64	64		4
Subtotal	29	530	428	102

Basic Medical Courses (required)

Courses	Credits	Hours Distribution			Semester
Courses	Credits	Total	Lecture	Practice	Semester
1. Medical Biology	2	32	32		2
2. Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology A	0.5	12		12	2
3. Systematic Anatomy	5.5	108	72	36	2
4. Traditional Chinese Medicine	2.5	48	32	16	3
5. Histology and Embryology	3	48	48		3
6. Laboratory of Microstructure A	1.5	48		48	3
7. Psychology	3	48	48		3
8. Medical Seminar A	2	32	32		3
9. Medical Statistics	2	32	32		4
10. Physiology	4.5	72	72		4
11. Laboratory of Functional Experiment A	1.5	48		48	4
12. Biochemistry	4.5	72	72		4
13. Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology B	1	36		36	4
14. Human Parasitology	1.5	32	16	16	4
15. Medical Seminar B	2	32	32		5
16. Professional Chinese Vocabulary A	3	48	48		5
17. Pathology	3.5	54	54		5
18. Laboratory of Microstructure B	1.5	54		54	5
19. Medical Microbiology	3.5	54	54		5
20. Laboratory of Pathogen Biology A	0.5	16		16	5
21. Medical Immunology	2.5	42	42		5
22. Laboratory of Pathogen Biology B	0.5	16		16	5
23. Regional Anatomy	3	74	24	48	5
24. Pathophysiology	2	36	36		6
25. Pharmacology	4	64	64		6
26. Laboratory of Functional Experiment B	1.5	48		48	6
27. Clinical Epidemiology	2	36	36		6
28. Clinical Nutrition	2	36	36		6
29. Professional Chinese Vocabulary B	3	48	48		6
Subtotal	69.5	1326	930	394

Major Courses

Courses	Credits	Hours Distribution					Semester
		Total		Lecture	Practice
1. Forensic Concepts	1		16	16		6
2. Diagnostics	5		112	56	56	7
3. General Surgery	2.5		45	30	15	7
4. Clinical Skills	1		32		32	7
5. Diagnosis of Medical Imaging	2		40	32	8	7
6. Geriatrics	2		32	32		7
7. Internal Medicine A	4.5		88	56	32	8
8. Surgery A	3		64	32	32	8
9. Gynecology & Obstetrics	4		80	48	32	8
10. Neurology	1.5		40	20	20	8
11. Ophthalmology	2		36	27	9	8
12. Otorhinolaryngology	2		36	27	9	8
13. Infectious diseases	1.5		38	26	12	8
14. Internal Medicine B	4.5		88	56	32	9
15. Surgery B	3		64	32	32	9
16. Nuclear Medicine	1.5		24	16	12	9
17. Psychiatry	1.5		28	24	4	9
18. Pediatrics	4		80	56	24	9
19. Dermatology and Venereology	2		36	24	12	9
20. Stomatology	1.5		32	16	16	9
21. Graduation Examination	2					12
Subtotal	52		1011	626	389

Elective Medical Courses

Courses	Credits	Hours Distribution			Semester
Courses	Credits	Total	Lecture	Practice	Semester
1. Clinical Blood Transfusion	1	16	16		7
2. Medical Genetics	2	32	32		3
3. Community Medicine	2	32	32		7
4. Nursing Skills	1	32		32	6
5. Clinical Hematology Laboratory	1	32		32	7
6. Medical Terminology	2	32	32		3
7. Practical Medical Chinese	3	48	48	64	7
Subtotal	12	224	160	128

Internship

Internship	Weeks	Credits
1. Internal Medicine & EM	16	16
2. Surgery	16	16
3. Obstetrics and Gynecology	4	4
4. Pediatrics	4	4
5. Oncology	4	4
6. Anesthesia	1	1
7. Ophthalmology	1	1
8. Otolaryngology	1	1
9. Dermatology and Venerology	1	1
Total	48	48

Tentative Teaching Schedule:

Exam in Chinese medical university

Testing theoretical proficiency: written exam

Exams	Format	Pattern	Duration
1. Mid-semester exam	Written	MCQs + Definitions + fill in the blanks + short questions + labelling + Cases & long essay	1.5 hrs
2. Semester exam	Written		2 hrs
3. Supplementary exam	Written		2 hrs

Testing practical proficiency: spotters & skills (viva in very few universities) in the appropriate lab setup
Testing Clinical proficiency:
- Clinical skills on the simulated patients or manikins
- Procedures in the appropriate setup in manikins or simulated models

Scores

Cut off: > 60% in the exam is considered to be “pass”
A total of 100 marks is divided into final-term examination – 50% + mid-term examination – 30% + Practical – 10% & attendance/self study/quizz – 10%
NB: Pattern + mark distribution of the exams & credits differ from university to university.

Indian vs Chinese syllabus/curriculum

Chinese Curriculum	Indian Curriculum
5 years + 1 year of internship	4.5 years + 1 year of internship (Competency-based curriculum)
Year 1	2 semesters
Pre-medical subjects Systemic anatomy Histology Embryology Cell & Molecular biology	Anatomy Histology & Embryology Genetics Biochemistry Physiology
Year 2 -3	3 semesters
Biochemistry Physiology Genetics Microbiology & Parasitology Immunology Pathology & Pathophysiology Pharmacology Regional Anatomy Epidemiology Statistics Psychology Physical Dx Lab Dx Radio Dx PSM	PSM Forensic Medicine Pathology Pharmacology Microbiology Clinical postings inwards & OPDs
Year 4-5	4 semesters
Internal Medicine General Surgery Pediatrics Geriatrics Gynaecology & Obstetrics Anesthesiology Neurology & Neurosurgery Ophthalmology ENT Infectious diseases Nuclear Medicine Psychiatry Dermatology & STD Clinical nutrition Forensic medicine Stomatology Emergency medicine Rehabilitation Medical ethics & Communication Oncology	IM & Pulmonary medicine Surgery PSM Psychiatry Dermatology Radio Dx & Radiotherapy OBG Pediatrics Anesthesiology ENT Ophthalmology Orthopedics Rehabilitation Dentistry Clinical postings

Indian vs Chinese medical education in a nutshell

	China	India
Duration	6 years (with internship) MBBS	4.5 MBBS (Competency-based curriculum)
Medium of teaching	English	English
Discipline/strictness	Minimal-moderate	High (Govt colleges)
Textbooks	Some universities provide (outdated editions usually)	Students should purchase as per the recommendation
Proficiency of faculties	Low especially in theory	Higher
Language barrier	Many students have	Some students have in the states with different spoken languages
Exam	Written (MCQs + short & long questions)	Written (MCQs + short & long questions) + Viva
Patient flow	High	High
Clinical exposure	Low	High
Hands-on clinical training	Minima	High
Internship	+ (low efficiency)	+
Research exposure	Medium to High	Low
Tuition fee	Cheaper	Very expensive