Chinese medical ward: an American's observations

Physicians base their practices on scientific knowledge that varies little from one country to another, but their experience and their careers are shaped by the culture in which they live and work. This essay casts light on medical practice in mainland China, based on three months of field work with an elite group of physicians at a tertiary academic medical center in summer 2009. It is a story of a diverse group of Chinese professionals navigating a demanding profession, and of the foreign college student on whom they left an indelible impact. Many of the normative features of the Chinese medical profession-its chain of command, commitment to medical ethics, and scientific orientation-are highly comparable to the working lives of American physicians.