Some key features of our educational approach are highlighted here.

We strongly believe that qualified medical professionals should be able to view medicine in a systemic and cross-disciplinary manner. We were the first in mainland China to implement a fully integrated medical curriculum in our programs, effectively assimilating basic medical science and clinical training, and successfully superseding the traditional, but limited approach based on separate instruction.

Our modernized curriculum allows students to experience clinical practice throughout the entire program, right from the very start up to the end. Actual clinical exposure is maximized through elective courses, bedside instruction sessions, health services charity projects, clinical rotations and intensive clinical internships in our affiliated hospitals, combined with field practice training sessions at the Shantou Center for Disease Control (CDC).

At SUMC, the traditional teacher-oriented education model has effectively been replaced by a student-centered educational model based on the concept of life-long learning and focused on skills development and attitude cultivation. Through interactive projects, joint case studies, group debates, book discussions and journal clubs, and effective self-study, students at SUMC quickly develop their professional competencies and skills.

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) forms an important educational tool in our programs aimed at enhancing students' problem solving skills, communicative skills and independent thinking and reasoning skills. To assess the knowledge application by our students, we use internationally accepted assessment instruments such as Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), Teaching Objective Structured Clinical Examination (TOSCE), and United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).

Internationalization at SUMC is realized through various activities, such as bilingual medical courses, foreign language courses, study-abroad programs, international internships, international research collaboration, staff exchange and international conferences. Our curriculum include an "English Immersion Program" and several mandatory English-taught and bilingual modules throughout our programs. From 2007 onwards, we have experimented with an English-based medical program, which uses English as the sole language of instruction and examination, combined with first-class international textbooks as reference materials.

We were the first medical school in China to establish a Clinical Skills Training Center, a state-of-the-art clinical simulation and learning center designed as an actual modern hospital. Through the use of sophisticated simulation models, multimedia learning systems and some 20 professional standardized patients, our training center efficiently facilitates the acquisition of the professional skills and competencies required in clinical practice.

In addition, we have been actively developing web-based instructional resources. To date, over 30 course learning websites have been opened. We regularly organize joint education projects with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, with faculties and students from both schools participating in English in case discussions by web-conferencing.