On August 19, 2008, I was invited to give a presentation titled “Medicine in America” at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital. The President of the Supercourse, Ms Y Y Yang led the tour of the hospital. We toured the orthopedic department followed by the pediatric ward. The orthopedic section that we visited was the post-operative recovery unit of the lower extremity surgeries. All the joint implants were imported from the United States.
PUMC hospital was started by the Rockefeller Foundation and is currently being operated by the Chinese Government. This hospital’s operation is similar to the private hospital in the U.S. All of the patients at PUMC hospital are either self-pay or insured by private insurance companies or insured by the Chinese Government.
This teaching hospital is affiliated with PUMC and this medical college has a curriculum of 8 years of which the student spends the first two and one-half years at Tsing Hua University. The remaining five and one-half years are spent at PUMC.
I was told that PUMC (Xie He Hospital) is the best hospital in China. The hospital has more than three thousand beds for the acute care patients.
After the tour, six of us walked to the nearby restaurant for the Peking duck dinner. The roast duck here was served with a layer of fat underneath the skin. I like the Chicago Chinatown’s Peking duck better though.
About twenty people attended my presentation for an hour followed by questions and answers. Many attendees felt fortunate to learn the medical system in the United States. I am looking forward to return to PUMC for a surgical slide presentation in the near future.
Dr. Kim K. Tee
Attending Surgeon, Oak Brook Surgical Centre.
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