Changsha, May 19 (People's Daily Online) - The fourth National Clinical Skills Competition for Medical College Students, hosted by the Clinical Teaching Research Center of the Ministry of Education and organized by Central South University, took place on May 18-19 at Xiangya Medical College, Central South University. A total of 168 participants from 42 universities across the country competed, and the teams from Sun Yat-sen University, Central South University, and Dalian Medical University won the special prize.

Participants are engaged in intense competition.

It is reported that the first National Clinical Skills Competition for Medical College Students was held in Beijing in 2010 and received unanimous praise from schools and hospitals. The competition aims to strengthen the training of medical students' clinical basic theories, basic knowledge, and basic skills, promote the organic integration of theoretical and practical aspects for medical students, and effectively promote the reform of medical talent training models and clinical practice teaching.

On May 13 last year, a representative team from Xiangya participated in the third National Clinical Skills Competition for Medical College Students and won the highest award, the special prize, rejuvenating the Xiangya team's three-year consecutive first place achievement in the national unified examination for 77th, 78th, and 79th batches.

"As one of the birthplaces of medical education in China, Xiangya has historically cultivated many outstanding medical talents. Winning the special prize in the previous competition proves that Xiangya students not only have a solid theoretical foundation but also excel in operational skills on a national level," said Professor Sun Hong, the Dean of Xiangya Hospital, Central South University.

The fourth National Clinical Skills Competition for Medical College Students consisted of preliminary competitions in five major regions and the final competition in Changsha. A total of 117 schools participated in the preliminary competitions, accounting for 90% of the total number of ordinary universities nationwide that offer undergraduate clinical medicine programs.

Based on the selections from the preliminary competitions in the regional divisions, 42 representative teams stood out and entered the final competition. Today, 168 participants from 42 schools competed in the clinical skills competition at Central South University, vying for special, first, second, and third prizes. The competition also attracted more than 80 observers from 26 non-participating schools.

Source: People's Daily Online (http://www.people.com.cn/)