Society

'After studying medicine they go into sales'

By Cheng Yingqi (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-03 08:23

BEIJING - Wang Chunchun, 23, has decided to quit traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) after she completes her internship at a Beijing hospital.

"Throughout my internship, I have been stuck in the pharmacy making Dashanzha pills, a medicine to cure indigestion. I did nothing to heal sick patients," said Wang, who is a final year TCM student in a college in Beijing.

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After she graduates next year, Wang said she will probably switch over to threpsology, the study of nutrition.

"Massive amounts of educational resources are being wasted in TCM and related fields," said Liang Rong, a professor at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

Liang said most of her students, who studied TCM for five to seven years, did not eventually become doctors. "A majority of them joined the sales teams of foreign-funded companies, selling drugs and medical instruments."

As a result, the knowledge of diagnosing and curing diseases they acquired in class has gone to waste, she said.

"On one hand, hospitals have very few openings for TCM doctors. On the other hand, salesmen are much better paid than TCM doctors," Liang said.

The income of a TCM doctor is two thirds of that of a physician or a surgeon, the Beijing Business Today has reported.

"What makes the difference is the bonus," a director, surnamed Han, in charge of staff salaries in a Beijing hospital was quoted as saying.

Han said that in her hospital, doctors could get a 30-percent bonus from the medical service charge for needle treatment, massages and cardiograph. For other procedures like X-ray and CT scan, the doctor gets 6 percent.

Basically, a patient would pay 20 yuan ($2.95) for needle treatment, and pay 230 yuan for a CT scan.

If a doctor convinces the patient do undergo a CT scan, he or she would get twice the money than a doctor who spends half an hour inserting thin needles into specific parts of the patient's body.

"For the bonus part, TCM doctors only get half of what other doctors make," Han said.

Another problem is that hospitals don't make much money selling Chinese medicine. Usually, a Chinese medicine to cure a cold costs 6 yuan. But foreign medicine costs no less than 30 yuan.

"The profit is low, and that is part of the reason that some TCM doctors are introducing western techniques into the therapeutic process," Liang said.

"But health care reform needs cheaper and effective methods," she said.

Since 2005, the government has been pushing forward the New Rural Co-operative Medical Care System in rural areas, aiming at making medical services more affordable for the poor.

"I hope Chinese medicine will play a bigger role in reducing medical expenses, especially for people in remote areas," Liang said.