Physicians work hard while country celebrates festivities

The Practicing Physicians Law, which aims to lay an even firmer foundation for the development of the next generation of high-caliber medical workers, came into effect earlier this month.

Though that foundation is already pretty solid, the need to strictly implement epidemic control measures to safeguard participants during Spring Festival and the recently concluded 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games was challenging for medical workers in the capital.

For example, all 120 emergency department physicians at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, who have an average age of under 35, spent Spring Festival in the city working regular shifts. "People take breaks, but diseases don't," said Zhang Hongbo, deputy director of the hospital's emergency department, adding that all of the hospital's ER departments were packed during the holiday. "As a result, no one was on leave."

China has more than 4 million practicing physicians working at over 1 million medical institutions.