On Dec. 23, 2016, the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission officially endorsed Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) as a pilot subspecialty within China. PCCM is one of three subspecialties (together with neurosurgery and cardiology) to pioneer fellowship training education in China. With the official endorsement of PCCM, local efforts will progress within China to administer programs and extend the standards of training throughout medical education in China. PCCM certification will now become a requirement for appointment of pulmonary department chairs and for promotion within the subspecialty.
Since 2012, CHEST has worked closely with partners, such as the Chinese Thoracic Society, the Chinese Association of Chest Physicians, and the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, on the development of China’s first fellowship program offering standardized training in PCCM for Chinese physicians. As a result of these collective efforts, PCCM has now officially earned endorsement as a medical subspecialty – the first of its kind in a country where medical training typically ends after a physician completes residency training. Only a decade ago, physicians in China went directly into practice following medical school. The development of a PCCM subspecialty in China – made possible through the engagement of CHEST’s expert faculty and administration – parallels what has occurred over the past 3 decades in the United States, during which the fields of pulmonary and critical care medicine evolved into the combined subspecialty of PCCM.
The China-CHEST PCCM Fellowship Program was officially launched in 2013 with 12 participating Chinese institutions starting their PCCM training programs. By the end of 2017, 30 programs with 300 fellows and 60 faculty will be participating at institutions throughout China, with the potential to impact the care of thousands of patients. The China-PCCM Fellowship Program proudly graduated its first class of fellows in September 2016.
China-CHEST leaders, including Renli Qiao, MD, PhD, FCCP; Chen Wang, MD, PhD, FCCP; and Jack Buckley, MD, MPH, FCCP; with Steve Welch, CHEST Executive Vice President, recently participated in local site visits to provide ongoing education and support to Chinese PCCM fellowship programs. They also participated in the November 2016 Mingdao Forum in Beijing to highlight the history and achievements of the China-CHEST PCCM program.
The vast reach and clinical exposure of this program highlights how an international professional medical association like CHEST, through innovative education and strategic collaborative partnerships, is able to impact medical training both within and beyond its specialty on a global scale.
Darcy Marciniuk, MD, FCCP
Chair, China–CHEST PCCM Steering Committee
Professor of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Renli Qiao, MD, PhD, FCCP
Medical Director, China–CHEST PCCM Program
Professor of Clinical Medicine,
Keck School of Medicine of USC,
Los Angeles, California
Robb Rabito, CHCP
Director, Education Operations CHEST
Glenview, Illinois