Putting Chinese doctors to the US medical test
More medical students and graduates are studying in China for American licensing exams to expand their skills and improve patient care
It's a public holiday but surgeon Li Yang is surrounded by students at a university lecture theatre in Beijing as they cram for the tests that would allow them to practise medicine in the United States.
Cutting back on his clinic hours at a hospital, Li founded Baige Medical a few years ago to create one of a growing number of companies on the mainland that prepare medical students and doctors for the two-part professional exam.
On this morning, Li was briefing students before giving a lecture - one of 39 in the Baige programme - later in the day on digestive tract disorders.
Only in recent years have young doctors and medical students started studying for the US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) while still in China. The more well-trodden path has been to first apply for a job in the US and then prepare for the test there.
"[The candidates] are much younger than in my time," said Li, aged 37, who passed the exam on home turf in 2009.
Back then he and several other young doctors met regularly at restaurants to compare notes and discuss cases in mock tests. That planted the seed for the business.