Taiwanese medical doctors intending to practice medicine in China face many hurdles, including high thresholds for getting medical licenses and differences in healthcare operations on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, medical sources said on Sunday.
China allowed Taiwanese medical practitioners to take part in its accreditation test for the first time last July, attracting 270 hopefuls.
According to a Taiwanese medical educator who spoke on condition of anonymity, more than half of the hopefuls have practiced medicine for more than 10 years, but about a quarter of them failed to pass even the first phase of the test.
"Three of the Taiwanese doctors who flunked the first phase of the test have been practicing medicine for more than 30 years and 18 have 20 years of experience," he said.
Quoting those who took part in the test, the educator said differences in Chinese writing systems and languages used in medical records were the first hurdles for Taiwanese hopefuls.
"Many Taiwanese doctors were not familiar with simplified Chinese characters and Chinese clinical terms," the educator said.
In Taiwan, medical doctors use traditional Chinese characters and usually write medical records in English.
There are also many differences in practical healthcare operations, he said.
Even though getting a Chinese medical license is not easy, the option is still a boon.
"The measure opens a window of opportunity for Taiwanese medical professionals as Taiwan's medical service system is mature and saturated," said a Taiwanese hospital operator.
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