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The growth in the number of pediatricians in China has remained stagnant in recent years, and experts have blamed the training system for medical staff.

China's pediatricians are among the practitioners that are in the shortest supply in the country's health system.

According to the latest statistics, by 2008 the country had 61,700 pediatricians for 230 million children under the age of 14, according to Zhu Zonghan, head of the pediatric division of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association.

It means every 1,000 children share 0.2598 pediatricians. In comparison, every 1,000 children in the United States share 1.4558 pediatricians, Zhu said.

"We need another 200,000 pediatricians to reach the US ratio," Zhu told Beijing Times.

"Even if we halve the target, we will have to bridge the gap by training 10,000 pediatricians every year in the coming decade."

But the fact is that only 5,000 new pediatricians have been trained in the past 15 years.

A student has to spend five years studying clinical medicine before choosing a certain medical department to specialize in.

In the case of pediatricians, medical graduates need to spend at least three more years of study to become qualified and it is not the first choice for medical graduates.

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Health, the number of pediatricians in China decreased from 65,995 in 2000 to 63,740 by 2005. Medics worry that as experienced pediatricians retire, there will not be enough younger pediatricians to maintain quality treatment.

Questions:

1. How many pediatricians did China have by 2008?

2. How many have been trained in the past 15 years?

3. How many are needed to reach the US ratio?

Answers:

1. 61,700.

2. 5,000.

3. 200,000.

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（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.