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We clearly understood the situation described by the Opinion paper. The increasing number of medical students poses a workforce crisis of “placeholder jobs”. Such a circumstance is definitely not favorable for the career development of prospective doctors.
We believed that by differentiating the career path of medical students, the issue will be mitigated. Doctors may undoubtedly be a major career path of medical school graduates, but actually they have much more to choose. Here are some examples. First of all, some students delving into scientific research are encouraged to apply for positions in medical colleges or universities. Of note, medical sciences are strongly associated with medical policies, clinical trials, health management, etc. Accordingly, the graduates can find positions in the Health Department (or other related departments) in the government, pharmaceutical and medical device enterprises, and health consultation companies. Moreover, they can devote themselves into medical science popularization as professional or freelance (e-)writers.
It should be noted that medical students may have been aware of these choices, but they could be unsure whether a certain choice of career path is suitable for themselves. Thence, it is suggested that medical colleges and universities should set up Medical Career Path (MCP) courses to guide students to rethink theircareer choice. Some experts from different sectors could be invited to deliver lectures upon all walks of jobs. Enterprises could be granted visiting opportunities to enable medical students a panoramic understanding of what they can do. These measures may assist medical students to reach a more reasonable decision.
In short, we advocate medical colleges and universities help to differentiate the career path of medical students, and then the employment pressure will be partially relieved.
Differentiate the career path of medical students
Dear Editor,
We clearly understood the situation described by the Opinion paper. The increasing number of medical students poses a workforce crisis of “placeholder jobs”. Such a circumstance is definitely not favorable for the career development of prospective doctors.
We believed that by differentiating the career path of medical students, the issue will be mitigated. Doctors may undoubtedly be a major career path of medical school graduates, but actually they have much more to choose. Here are some examples. First of all, some students delving into scientific research are encouraged to apply for positions in medical colleges or universities. Of note, medical sciences are strongly associated with medical policies, clinical trials, health management, etc. Accordingly, the graduates can find positions in the Health Department (or other related departments) in the government, pharmaceutical and medical device enterprises, and health consultation companies. Moreover, they can devote themselves into medical science popularization as professional or freelance (e-)writers.
It should be noted that medical students may have been aware of these choices, but they could be unsure whether a certain choice of career path is suitable for themselves. Thence, it is suggested that medical colleges and universities should set up Medical Career Path (MCP) courses to guide students to rethink theircareer choice. Some experts from different sectors could be invited to deliver lectures upon all walks of jobs. Enterprises could be granted visiting opportunities to enable medical students a panoramic understanding of what they can do. These measures may assist medical students to reach a more reasonable decision.
In short, we advocate medical colleges and universities help to differentiate the career path of medical students, and then the employment pressure will be partially relieved.
Competing interests: No competing interests