Targeted competency and skill for targeted students

Abstract

In China, ‘targeted students’ are individuals who have signed contracts with local Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agencies that obligate them to return to the contracted agencies to work after graduation.¹ While the training programmes for targeted and general students are similar, professional outcomes may differ in various aspects. Initially, students often choose to become targeted candidates in preventive medicine to gain access to better institutions despite lower college admission scores. However, we found that both average and maximum admission scores significantly increased from 2015 to 2017 as the stable career prospects associated with being targeted students have become increasingly appealing. Nonetheless, we continue to witness inadequate competency development in some targeted students.

To meet the workforce requirements from the community and less-developed regions, our university has been enrolling targeted students in preventive medicine since 2013.¹ Between 2015 and 2017, in fact, all students (n = 302) in preventive medicine were targeted students. Starting with the 2016 class, a revised programme was launched to enhance ethical values and professional goals. Lectures about preventive medicine and local CDC practice are provided (minimum 10 credit hours) in stages for students to become familiar with the essence and importance of the field. Students and faculty are coupled and matched so students can participate in research activities (minimum 20 weeks) aligned with their research interests. Internships in hospitals (26 weeks), CDC agencies (20 weeks), and community health centres in conjunction with specialised courses are also provided to the students for intra- and inter-professional competency development. All these efforts have significantly boosted students' learning motivation and enhanced their hands-on experience and practical skills.

The effectiveness of competence development in targeted students is a critical and key consideration. With these developments, overall student satisfaction has increased to >97% and institutions are now recommending these graduates at a rate of >95%. At the same time, we have seen higher rates of students choosing to pursue graduate studies. Due to their contracted positions, however, we currently lack targeted or tailored policies for such trainees. As society and public health develop and improve, local CDC agencies require more up-to-date and hands-on skills, which leads to a greater interest in targeted students. Therefore, ongoing improvements in research and practical training continue to be necessary to support the growth of China's healthcare sector and to strengthen targeted students' future success.

Ying Xu: Conceptualization; methodology; software; data curation; formal analysis; writing – original draft. Binyan Wang: Data curation; investigation; supervision; funding acquisition. Jing Fang: Conceptualization; data curation; investigation; supervision; funding acquisition; writing – original draft.

The authors report no conflicts with any product mentioned or concept discussed in this article.