The author of this article: North China
On July 12, in the “People’s Republic of China Occupational Classification Ceremony (2022 Edition)” (public draft) released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China, the occupation of “rehabilitation physician” was changed from “No. Those in the second category of professional and technical personnel were transferred to the “fourth category of social production service and life service personnel” and became “rehabilitation therapists”.
“Rehabilitation Physician” in the document becomes a Rehabilitation and Correction Service Person
The shift has sparked a buzz on the internet. A large number of rehabilitation therapists sighed: “Am I going to be a waiter in the future”?
How has the “Rehabilitation Therapist” classification changed?
On July 12, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of my country released the “Occupational Classification of the People’s Republic of China (2022 Edition)” (public draft), which is the third edition of the “Occupational Classification” released by my country. Encyclopedia, first edition published in 1999.
In 2015, in order to make this document more suitable for my country’s national conditions, my country republished it. In the process of this reprint, rehabilitation therapists are listed as “rehabilitation technicians” and belong to the “medical health technicians” category of “health professional technicians”.
With the release of the 2022 version of the public announcement, the occupational classification in the field of health care in my country has undergone considerable changes. For example, new occupations such as medical nurses, health nurses, respiratory therapists, birth defect prevention and control consultants, geriatric ability assessors, and rehabilitation assistive technology consultants have been added. They collectively belong to “health, sports and leisure service personnel”. In the category, the “rehabilitation therapist” that caused the hot discussion this time was also moved into it.
This means that “rehabilitation therapists” no longer belong to the second largest category of “professional and technical personnel” in our country’s occupational classification, but the fourth largest category of “social production services and life services”. personnel”. It is this change that has sparked a lot of discussions among people related to rehabilitation medicine.
Expert consensus on “Guidelines for Compilation of Job Standards for Rehabilitation Therapists in China”
However, there have been discussions in the industry regarding the occupational classification of “rehabilitation therapists.” In the first issue of 2022, the Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine published an expert consensus on the Guidelines for Compilation of Job Standards for Chinese Rehabilitation Therapists. This guideline points out that the designation of a “rehabilitation therapist” as a “technician” is not rigorous.
“Technologists” usually work in laboratories or auxiliary departments such as laboratory departments, imaging departments, etc., and work around instruments, while “rehabilitation therapists” are in the front line of clinical practice and carry out medical work around patients. Therefore, the occupational classification name is not enough to reflect the important significance of the rehabilitation therapist group to ensuring the health level of the people.
That said, the occupational classification of “rehabilitation therapist” is itself controversial in the industry.
Rehabilitation medicine education is still being explored
Rehabilitation medicine in China started in the 1980s, but the Ministry of Health only issued a document requiring medical schools across the country to offer “rehabilitation medicine” courses in the form of elective or compulsory courses.
In 1989, the profession of “rehabilitation technology” was officially established in vocational colleges in my country. However, it was not until 2001 that Nanjing Medical University opened the undergraduate program of “Rehabilitation Therapy”, which filled the gap that there is no rehabilitation therapy-related major in Chinese colleges and universities.
Since Nanjing Medical University, Capital Medical University, Kunming Medical University, Sichuan University, Tongji University and many other universities have successively established rehabilitation therapy majors, the schooling system is four years , awarded a degree of science upon graduation.
According to paper data, as of 2018, 156 undergraduate colleges and universities in my country have opened rehabilitation therapy majors. While colleges and universities all over the world are offering this major, the course name, number of courses and credit hours of rehabilitation education in our country lack uniform standards and are not standardized.
For example, Tongji University and Sichuan University have reduced the proportion of some clinical courses in the universities that have established rehabilitation therapy majors, focusing on “musculoskeletal system physiotherapy”, “nervous system physiotherapy”, etc. Four directions strengthen the teaching of professional core courses.
As for the professional basic courses of Capital Medical University and Kunming Medical University, they are more systematic and comprehensive, including clinical courses such as internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, and pediatrics, and attach importance to the teaching of basic knowledge.
Tongji University’s introduction to the specialty of “Rehabilitation Physiotherapy”
In addition, occupational classification in the field of rehabilitation therapy in my country is still being explored. Internationally, the training of rehabilitation therapists is mainly divided into PT direction – physical therapists. And the OT direction – two directions for occupational therapists.
In 2002, Capital Medical University adopted the method of major division for the first time in my country, dividing students into different directions for training. Subsequently, Kunming Medical University and other universities have also carried out professional diversion in the field of rehabilitation medicine.
However, as of 2018, only 5 schools in China, including Kunming Medical University and Sichuan University, have achieved the lowest ranking in the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) and the World Federation of Physical Therapy (WCPT). Certification of educational standards and rehabilitation education in a large number of schools are still being explored.
In this “People’s Republic of China Occupational Classification Ceremony (2022 Edition)” (public draft), the occupational classification of rehabilitation therapy is only “rehabilitation therapist”. To further subdivide the occupational classification in this field, there is a certain gap with the foreign advanced level.
Japan-US Classified Professional
Internationally, the document corresponding to my country’s “People’s Republic of China Occupational Classification Code” is the “International Standard Occupational Classification (ISCO)” issued by the International Labour Organization. This occupational classification standard has also been updated and iterated many times, and the fourth version currently in use was released in 2008 and is called “ISCO-08”.
In “ISCO-08” we can see that the rehabilitation therapy profession is subdivided into two distinct occupations, Physical Therapist and Hearing and Speech Therapist . These two occupations are also grouped under the “Other Health Professionals” subcategory under “Health Professionals”.
In many states in the United States, patients who are unwell can go directly to a physical therapist without being asked for a referral. Physical therapists also evaluate, diagnose, treat, and provide preventive health education for patients.
Occupational classification of “physical therapist” in foreign countries
In Japan, the classification of rehabilitation therapy specialties is more detailed. In some hospitals, the rehabilitation medical team consists of physical therapists, nurses, clinical psychologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and acupuncturists and other staff members, who jointly provide medical services for patients in outpatient clinics.
Some scholars have analyzed the field of rehabilitation medicine in Japan and pointed out that, compared with Japan, the development of rehabilitation medicine in my country is characterized by “fewer colleges and universities for professional training and uneven distribution of teaching resources. ” and many other issues. Some people also believe that compared with the homogenized education of rehabilitation therapy in the United States, there are problems such as “obvious differences in the positioning of personnel training goals and different degrees of teaching quality control” in various colleges and universities in my country.
The changes to the occupational classification of “rehabilitation therapists” in this public announcement may be a major exploration and attempt to solve related problems in the field of rehabilitation medicine in my country.
However, a large number of rehabilitation medicine practitioners are also concerned about whether “rehabilitation therapists can be employed after short-term training” after “rehabilitation therapists” are classified as “services”. , “Rehabilitation therapist employment threshold is lowered”, “rehabilitation treatment commercialization” and other issues.
These concerns show that the development of rehabilitation medicine in my country has a long way to go.
Planning: North China, Leu.
Producer: gyouza
Image source: Visual China
References
[1] Announcement on the announcement of the “Occupational Classification of the People’s Republic of China (2022 Edition)” (public draft).(2022).
[2] Chen Wenhua, Yan Tiebin. Expert consensus on “Guidelines for Compilation of Job Standards for Rehabilitation Therapists in China” [J]. Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2022, 37(1): 10-13 .
[3] Yan Tiebin, Ao Lijuan. The construction and development of China’s rehabilitation medicine education system [J]. Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2019, 34(8): 881-884 .
[4] Li Yun, Zhai Hua, Hu Jia, Wang Huifang. Curriculum setting and internationalized school-running characteristics of rehabilitation therapy in Tongji University [J]. Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2018, 33(1 ):90-92.
[5] https:https://ilostat.ilo.org/resources/concepts-and-definitions/classification-occupation/
[6] https:https://www.ptprogress.com/physical-therapist/
[7] https:https://www.h.u-tokyo.ac.jp/english/centers-services/clinical-divisions/rehabilitation-medicine/index.html
[8] Huang Renyan. The evolution of rehabilitation therapy in Japan and its enlightenment to my country [J]. Science and Technology Vision, 2017(1):218-219.
[9] Guo Yuanyuan, Liu Hao, Huang Dongfeng, Yang Ning. Enlightenment and reflection on the homogenization of American physical therapy specialty [J]. Medical Education Research and Practice, 2018, 26(1): 5-8+ 45.