China Medical News

According to China's public health statistical yearbook in 2015, the number of pediatricians in China dropped from 105,000 to around 100,000 within five years. On average, there are only 43 doctors per 100,000 children. This situation is worse in some smaller cities, such as Weinan, located about 70km away from Xi'an, which is a capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, in which they only have 17 doctors per 100,000 children.

The shortage of pediatricians has made it difficult for parents. In one of the best hospitals in Xi'an, the waiting area for the pediatric department and surrounding corridor was swarming with hundreds of parents and sick children, with cries ringing out continuously. This department receives more than 500 patients daily, and one doctor said "In the mornings I receive more than 100 outpatients," which means that the doctor can only spend only a few minutes with each patient.

A director of the pediatric department at Xi'an Central Hospital believes that low salary, high pressure and high risk are the main causes behind people's reluctance to become pediatricians. A doctor at this hospital mentions "My working time a day is, on average, more than 10 hours", a nurse mentions that "We always find ourselves facing anxious parents yelling at us", and another nurses mentioning "Pediatricians earn 30% less than other departments, because the department earns less income". In China, medicines and examinations are the primary source of income for medical departments and children are prescribed less medicine than adults. The dosage for 10 to 15 children equals that of roughly one adult.

A decrease of pediatric graduates has also fueled the shortage, because in 1998, the Ministry of Education abolished pediatric departments in universities. A political adviser mentioned that, in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, there were only five universities with pediatric departments, as most stopped accepting pediatric majors. He added "Without timely measures, the situation will become worse". (Source: Xinhua)