Integrating clinical practice and research skills into comprehensive capability for translational medicine, Zhejiang experience on the Hepato-Bilio-Pancreatic surgeon program

A highly skilled surgical team relies on a standardized training program. This article presents a comprehensive description on the current status, problems, and strategies in Hepato-bilio-pancreatic surgery education reform in Zhejiang University School of Medicine (ZJU), China. A multiple-discipline joint training program was set up by integrating the basic laboratory and clinical research as well as routine clinical practice. Reform includes resident training in the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, curriculum resetting, surgery textbook rewriting, clinical teaching and training bases construction, teaching methods improvement, English reading, writing and reporting skills training and a research assignment. ZJU establishes rigorous processes for managing teaching quality and ensuring graduates promote evidence-based surgical practice. ZJU has built its leading position in the Hepato-Bilio-Pancreatic surgery in China. In 2011, 6 post-doctoral researchers, 52 Ph.D. students and 83 master students were enrolled in the 7year MD program and 8year Ph.D. MD/Ph.D. program. The admission scores have been listed as the top three of the 264 master degrees programs and 181 doctoral degrees programs in Zhejiang University, which ranks among the top three in all Chinese Universities. Historical experience and the advanced experience of Western countries are adopted as a reference to build up a surgical education system with Chinese characteristics to achieve a continuous, sound, and rapid development of surgical education in ZJU, China. However, there are differences relating to the healthcare systems of China and Western countries. These differences present major challenges for the internationalization of surgical education. This article may facilitate the process of surgical training development in a global context.