Chinese Medical Association meeting hears of WONCA standards

Dr Donald Li, WONCA Executive member-at-large was recently invited to speak on the WONCA educational standards for accreditation at the Annual General Meeting and conference of the Society of General Practice of the Chinese Medical Association (SOGP CMA), the member organization of WONCA of China.

His plenary was titled : "WONCA Global Standards for Postgraduate Family Medicine Education". He elaborated on the standards we used in the accreditation of the Shanghai Family Medicine training program so that others around the nation knew more about what WONCA was looking for when assessing family medicine training programs. He also commented on the emerging high standards of family medicine training around the nation and encouraged those established centers to undergo WONCA accreditation so that trainees will feel encouraged and recognized that their standards were up to International level and take pride in being a family doctor.

Chen Zhu, a vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and immediate past Minister of Health made a keynote address at the conference. He is also the President of the Chinese Medical Association and he made an excellent statement that "the top hospitals in China do not deserve the highest 3 A grading if they did not have department of family medicine". This was received with loud applause. This is a most important and encouraging remark from a state leader.

Dr Li also met with Prof Zeng Yik San new chair of the SOGP CMA who takes over from Prof Zhu of Shanghai.

In the photo, Dr Donald Li (second from left) lunches with senior medical leaders in the People's Republic of China. To the left of Donald Li is Chen Zhu; to the right of Donald Li is Prof Zeng Yi Xin newly elected President of the Society of General Practice of the Chinese Medical Association. He is also the head of the Peking Union Medical School. Joining them is Prof Qi Guoming, Vice President of the Chinese Medical Association.