| i understand and know that this type of activity and event happens in china all too often, actually such circumstances occur more frequently than is reported, blogged or reported. i am a western medic working here in china for 4 years. i worked first in changzhou for one year then shanghai for approximately 2 years working in a foreign hospital (which by comparison to what i work with today is like paradice). i then was employed for a short time in the middle east on a short contract. when contract finished i came back to china and married my chinese (wife), and had intention to take up contract offer in middle east, but as circumstances and connections would have it, i ended up being offered a contract to work in a city in zhejiang province at a district level hospital (chinese) in a economic and trade development zone of the city, where i have been employed for the past 1 & 1/2 years. i'm well accustomed to the chinese way, in relation to culture, relationships, connections, guanxi and so on. i'm also really familiar and in unique position to see what goes on (as much as a laowai with limited putonghua can) behind the scenes in a chinese hospital and it is scary... the hospital i'm employed by is a level 2a district hospital, so it differs from the highest 3a level city hospital a bit i'm sure, however this hospital is under private ownership, not government which in china is very unique. the hospital still serves holders of the social medical insurance though, so there is still a large amount of government oversight and involvement. in terms of medical practice, well there are many things that need to be changed... none of which is easy. chinese people here have a lot to grapple with in the future. guanxi and connections/relationships plays such an important and inseperable part of how things are done, and this is in itself causes some (most) of the problems here -it sounds simple but it is far from it. it affects everything and everyone living and working here, and one way forward for china is less reliance or indeed use of connections or guanxi. me thinks that this is such an undeniable and inseperable part of the chinese culture and psyche, that to invoke this change is near on impossible anytime soon in the near future. people are offered positions and get favours, based on who they know, not what they know and this is a real downfall especially in relation to employment etc. many positions are held by complete incompetent individuals, and in my experience this is the norm. i work with many... notwithstanding the unfortunate and less than ethical medicine that was carried out as detailed in this blog, IMO china is changing but there are some major changes that need to happen if china really expects to make the great leap forward. education is the key, though i fear that social unrest still has a part to play in china's development and future. the huge gap between the middle/upper classes from those of the underclass is increasing exponentially, that no matter what initiatives the government or business takes, it will not have enough of a dramatic impact that reaches far enough. this discussion in this blog is but the tip of the "iceberg" -many more instances of imcompetence exist, it surrounds china like a deep prevailing mist which will hinder its navigation on the seas of time for many years to come. |
Serious Ill caused by Serious Mistake