A qualitative study on regional and inter-hospital disparities and collaborative pathways in standardized residency training for general practitioners

doi:10.3760/cma.j.cn115259-20251025-01349

Abstract

Abstract: Objective To explore the limitations in clinical experience caused by regional and inter-hospital disparities in China′s standardized residency training for general practitioners, and to analyze the necessity and feasible pathways for inter-institutional collaborative training. Methods A qualitative research approach was adopted. In December 2024, purposive sampling was used to select 30 participants, including general practice residents, mentors, and training administrators from two public hospitals located in the southeastern coastal and northwestern inland regions of China. Focus group interviews were conducted, centered on training disparities and collaborative pathways. Thematic analysis was employed to extract core themes. Results Five key themes were identified: (1)Objective disparities exist between different regions/hospitals regarding disease spectrum, typical case resources, patient healthcare-seeking behaviors, and disciplinary development priorities. (2)Although training administrators are aware of these disparities, their potential impact on training homogenization has not been systematically addressed due to factors such as the current training guidelines emphasizing quantitative case coverage, the predominant trend of residents seeking local employment, and a primary focus on enhancing teaching and learning capabilities in current quality assessments. (3)Implementing multi-hospital collaborative training is necessary for promoting teaching homogenization, broadening residents′ clinical thinking, and improving mentors′ instructional skills. (4)Offline collaborative training faces low feasibility due to practical constraints including policy support, cost, geographical distance, and safety concerns. (5)Online collaborative training (e.g., remote case discussions, online teaching clinics, shared AI case databases, and virtual collaborative lesson preparation among mentors) is considered a viable and effective alternative at present. Conclusions Objective regional and inter-hospital resource disparities exist in China′s general practitioner training, posing a challenge to training homogenization. It is recommended to actively explore and promote a multi-center collaborative training model, starting with online collaborative training as an entry point. This approach can compensate for the limitations of single-institution training resources and systematically enhance the overall quality of general practitioner training.

Key words: General practice, Standardized residency training, Regional and inter-hospital differences, Collaborative pathways, Qualitative study

CLC Number:

R-05

Pan Cunxue, Zheng Junjiong , Wu Qin, He Tao, Wang Xuemei, Buaijier Abuduwayiti, Li Qingrong, Xiao Fei , Lin Tianxin. A qualitative study on regional and inter-hospital disparities and collaborative pathways in standardized residency training for general practitioners[J]. Chinese Journal of Medical Education, 2026, 46(5): 343-350.

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