China and Australia partner to train Future Stars

China and Australia partner to train Future Stars

A recent training session held jointly by Chinese and Australian health experts is an opportunity to share knowledge across countries and develop the next generation of cardiovascular researchers in China.

The ‘Future Star’ Clinical Research Training was successfully held in Xi’an city, Shaanxi province on 25 to 27 July, 2015. The training program was jointly hosted by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association (CMDA) and Chinese College of Cardiovascular Physicians (CCCP). Senior researchers from The George Institute were invited to provide clinical research training to 20 Chinese cardiovascular physicians with the aim of improving their clinical research ability. Thus it would contribute to the development of cardiovascular clinical research in China.

The clinical research training program is an outcome of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding between The George Institute and CCCP signed this May. The primary focus of the agreement is to provide Chinese physicians with world class clinical research training and the opportunity to spend extended periods of time at The George Institute Australia and the UK. Through such collaboration, the bonds between Australian and Chinese cardiovascular professionals will be strengthened. As marked by Professor Anushka Patel, Chief Scientist of The George Institute,the collaboration is a welcome opportunity for Australian and Chinese medical professionals to learn from each other.

Since the first training program in 2014, the ’Future Star’ program has attracted wide attention from young physicians in this field. The second training kicked off at the 2015 Annual Conference for Chinese Cardiovascular Physicians. 35 young physicians from 20 cities across China passed the first-round selection, and their clinical competence, research ability, and comprehensive ability were examined by way of interview and scoring. At last, 20 of the 35 physicians stood out from the competition and were enrolled on 25th – 27th July.

In the opening ceremony, Prof. Ma Changsheng, sponsor of the program and Chairman of CCCP, pointed out that training young physicians is a guarantee of the Chinese cardiovascular physicians' future and hope. How to keep up with international standards and practice in the aspect of our specialized areas and win in the international competition is an issue about which every young physician should think seriously. The ’Future Star‘ training program is intended to promote academic and career growth of the young cardiovascular physicians and to help them improve their working ability. It is also the intention of the program to train a group of outstanding young cardiovascular physicians and promote academic progress in cardiovascular areas.

During the three-day training, senior researchers from The George Institute Australia gave didactic lectures and interacted with participants in practical workshops. The training program was primarily focused on basic epidemiology and biostatistics, with the main purpose of assisting the clinicians to build their clinical research expertise. In addition, the training also included lectures on how to publish research results and ensure the high quality of research. The participants’ feedback indicated that they benefited from the training and said they would like to receive further training. It is hoped that they will put what they’ve learned into practice when they come back to improve the academic research level in the field of cardiovascular clinical practice in China and strengthen international academic exchange and cooperation.