More students pick medicine as major as pandemic changes attitudes

Relatively few Chinese undergraduates major in medicine－so much so that there's a sardonic saying among high school graduates and parents: "Those who persuade others to go to medical school will be struck by lightning."

The COVID-19 pandemic, however, may be a catalyst for change.

This autumn semester, many universities nationwide noticed growing enthusiasm for medical majors as the national fight against the pandemic put a spotlight on the profession.

Zhang Shuyang, Party secretary of Peking Union Medical College Hospital and vice-president of the prestigious Peking Union Medical College in Beijing, said that applications to the college and its partner academy at Tsinghua University this year increased by 30 percent compared with last year.

"The fight against the disease has enhanced people's reverence for life and improved the relationship between doctors and patients. A better ecology is taking shape," she said.

Wang Ying, head of undergraduate admissions at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, Hubei province, said more high scorers have opted for medical majors this year.

"About one in 10 students that we enrolled this year made medical studies their first choice in their applications," she said.

"The disease outbreak is certainly a key driver of the change. In the past, many students tended to prioritize such factors as future earnings and career prospects when choosing majors.

"But a growing number of the students aspire to help others and contribute to national rejuvenation through science majors, including medicine," Wang said.

Song Juan, an admissions officer with the School of Medicine at Wuhan University, also told The Beijing News that the epidemic has fueled interest in medical studies and fostered a more favorable environment for medical practitioners.

"We had expected this year's admission outlook to be unsatisfactory since the city was hit hard by the virus. But, to our surprise, high school graduates did not shun Wuhan," she said.

"That's probably because the admirable acts of role models who emerged during the outbreak deeply moved the youth."

The Chinese Medical Doctor Association says most of the 80 recipients of this year's Chinese Physician Prize－the highest honor for the country's medical workers－fought on the front line against COVID-19. The list was released in mid-August.