Visiting Professors Find Modern Radiology Departments in China
While past participants in RSNA's International Visiting Professor Program have described experiences in developing or recently developed countries where equipment is sparse and funding more so, teams traveling to China in 2008 reported an entirely different experience—an exchange of knowledge with radiologists in some of the country's most state-of-the-art hospitals. Such development in the country's urban areas offers hope—through a ripple effect—to more remote areas, team members said.
The hospitals we went to were huge and they have a similar type of imaging ability that we have, said Yvonne Lui, M.D., who traveled with Kitt Shaffer, M.D., Ph.D., to Beijing and Shanghai last September. It's a well-equipped, well-supported system.
Edgardo J. Angtuaco, M.D., Ken L. Schreibman, Ph.D., M.D., and Raquel Del Carpio-O'Donovan, M.D., who traveled to Guangzhou and Chongqing in October, reported similar experiences.
Visitors Offered Guidance in Training, Research
While the infrastructure was top notch, there were areas where the Chinese physicians looked for some guidance, said Dr. Lui, an assistant professor of radiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, in New York.
 Ken L. Schreibman, Ph.D., M.D. (far left), Raquel Del Carpio-O'Donovan, M.D. (second from left), and Edgardo J. Angtuaco, M.D. (far right), traveled to Guangzhou and Chongqing in western China. Here they pose with their host, Quanfei Meng, M.D., of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, and Teresita L. Angtuaco, M.D. The Five Goats of Guangzhou statue commemorates five celestial beings descending from heaven on goats to deliver the people of Guangzhou from famine. All photos courtesy Ken L. Schreibman, Ph.D, M.D. |
They have a lot of hardware in place now, but they were very interested in the U.S. system of board certification, performing clinical research and writing papers, said Dr. Lui. There are many pathways to become board certified in radiology in China, she added, describing their system as quite confusing.
They were also very interested in better organizing their training programs, said Dr. Lui. It's an evolving process and they are at the stage where they are trying to set standards.
Dr. Lui and Dr. Shaffer, a chest radiologist and director of medical education in radiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and assistant chief of radiology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, gave a combined 40-plus hours of lectures. The two also found some time to sightsee.
Our hosts were great and they showed us around, said Dr. Lui. We visited Suzhou, famous for its gardens. In Beijing, we were able to attend the paralympics, which were very inspiring. Dr. Shaffer was a great travel partner and it was wonderful learning from her as well.
Chongqing, located in western China, boasts the country's largest municipal area and population. With a history of more than 2,800 years, Guangzhou is located at the north of the Pearl River delta in southeastern China and is an important trading center as well as a busy port.
Hospitals Boast Modern Equipment, Talented Staff
As it was with the Beijing and Shanghai trips, radiologists traveling to Guangzhou and Chongqing said both cities had large, modern hospitals and a talented staff of radiologists.
We started with the 15th Chinese Congress of Radiology in Chongqing and then went to Guangzhou, where we visited two major teaching hospitals—each with 3,000 beds and situated nearly across the street from one another, said Dr.
 RSNA International Visiting Professor Raquel Del Carpio-O'Donovan, M.D. (center), discusses a case with residents at Guangzhou University Hospital. She said she found radiology rounds well prepared during her time in Guangzhou and Chongqing. A resident or junior staffer would present a difficult case, showing selected images, lab results and sometimes pathology reports, she said. |
The Chinese government has mandated more than 65,000 radiologists—one-third of that number are still needed and about 5,000 are in training—said Dr. Schreibman. That's why we are seeing so many research papers coming out of China, he said. They don't have a dictation system, so they have a system where they type on a Western keyboard and it pops up Chinese words and they choose the ones they want. Their reading rooms, I would say, are more spacious than ours.
Dr. Del Carpio-O'Donovan, a professor of neuroradiology at McGill University Health Center in Montreal, also was impressed during her time in Guangzhou and Chongqing.
Their rounds were very well-prepared, she said. A resident or junior staffer would present a difficult case. We were shown selected images, lab results and sometimes the pathology reports. Other cases were still diagnostic enigmas and they asked for our opinion.
Presentations were made in English and our discussions were translated by some of the English-speaking residents or staff, Dr. Del Carpio-O'Donovan continued. On two occasions, there were formal lectures by the RSNA visiting professors in splendid modern auditoriums, with our lectures projecting both in English and in Chinese.
Drs. Schreibman and Del Carpio-O'Donovan praised their hosts for their hospitality and making such good use of the visitors' professional and leisure time.
They kept us very busy and I am spoiled by how well they fed us—I didn't have to even order, everyone took us out and we really got to see what Chinese dining was all about, said Dr. Schreibman.
We were treated with great respect and warmth, added Dr. Del Carpio-O'Donovan, adding that she particularly appreciated a day outing to Zhaoqing while in Guangzhou. We visited the majestic limestone peaks known as the Seven Star Crags, a place of great beauty and tranquility, she said. The next day we visited Zhuhai, a modern port city which faces Macau in the South China Sea.
Generational Gap Must Be Filled
Though the hospitals they visited were well-equipped, American radiologists can help their fellow Chinese radiologists in areas such as sports medicine MR, said Dr. Schreibman.
China is not a third-world country, said Dr. Schreibman, who since his trip has been posting his lectures to his Web site in both English and Chinese. They have very good technology and very smart people.
Chinese radiologists need to take advantage of people who are experienced with these other modalities and can teach it to them, Dr. Schreibman continued. I think there is a real opportunity to partner with them and help radiology grow in China. We can show them the things we did right and wrong and help them find their own way. This provides opportunities for all of us.
Established in 1986, the RSNA International Visiting Professor Program annually sends teams of North American professors to lecture at national radiology society meetings and visit with radiology residency training programs at selected host institutions in developing nations. The goal is to foster teaching and a cultural exchange between radiology departments in the U.S. and those in other countries. The RSNA Committee on International Relations and Education administers the program.
In 2008, RSNA also sent visiting professors to Nigeria, Vietnam and Mexico. In 2009, IVP teams will travel to Argentina, Bolivia, Estonia, South Africa and Mexico. Other recent trips have included Uganda, Algeria and Honduras.