A Historical Step for the Establishment of Ottawa-Shanghai Joint School of Medicine

Upon the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Canada and China and the anniversary of Canada-China 20 years of health engagement, Renji Hospital affiliated to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, the University of Ottawa School of Medicine and the Ottawa Hospital signed two memorandums of understanding to become sister hospitals. Mr. Liu Qian, Vice-Minister of China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission, Mr. Wang Wentian, Acting Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Simon Kennedy, Deputy Minister of Health Canada and Mr. Jack Kitts, President and CEO of the Ottawa Hospital and other distinguished delegates witnessed the signing ceremony. Renji Hospital becomes the first teaching hospital in China that is associated with a North American school of medicine, laying a solid foundation for the clinical education at the Ottawa-Shanghai Joint School of Medicine.

In October 2014, the cooperation project of co-establishing a medical school brought up by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the University of Ottawa School of Medicine which had been approved by the Ministry of Education of China settled down in Shanghai upon the 170th anniversary of Renji Hospital. By virtue of its more than one century’s history and its rich experience in Anglophone classes, Renji Hospital undertakes the main job of establishing the joint school of medicine. For the faculty of medicine of the University of Ottawa, this joint school of medicine is also a milestone for international cooperation.

As one of the series of events celebrating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Canada and China, the opening ceremony of a picture show with the theme of “Celebrating 20 Years of Health Cooperation” which was co-organized by Health Canada and the Chinese embassy in Canada was held at the medical school of University of Ottawa on May 15th, 2015. Mr. Liu Qian, Vice-Minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission in China, Mr. Wang Wentian, Acting Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China and Mr. Simon Kennedy, Deputy Minister of Health Canada attended the ceremony. At the invitation of the medical school of uOttawa, Mr. Li Weiping, President of Renji Hospital also attended the ceremony, together with Ms. Shao Li, Vice Director of the medical school of Renji Hospital, Mr. Zhuang Jie, Chief of Staff of Renji Hospital and chiefs of the academic offices from the internal medicine department, surgical department and general medicine department.

At the ceremony Mr. Liu Qian reviewed the gratifying progress and abundant fruits of Canada-China health cooperation. He said that the health departments of Canada and China should actively carry out the consensus reached by leaders of the two sides on further enhancing health cooperation. More practical cooperation should be made between two countries’ medical schools and hospitals, pushing forward the cooperation in medical education and research between Canada and China, enhancing the two peoples’ welfare and making more contribution to world peace and development.

At the ceremony, President Li Weiping of Renji Hospital and President Jack Kitts of Ottawa Hospital signed two MOUs. Under these MOUs, not only Renji Hospital will become the teaching hospital of the medical school of uOttawa, but also Renji Hospital and Ottawa University will become sister hospitals. According to the MOUs, based on the current cooperation on Ottawa-Shanghai Joint School of Medicine, the two sides will enhance the cooperation on curriculum design, residency training, teacher appointment and evaluation and administration. Meanwhile, through the cooperation between the two hospitals, innovative research should be made in health education, scientific research, clinical treatment, career development training and medical education. In the remarks of Mr. Wang Wentian, he said the MOUs mark a new health cooperation mode between the two countries, which is the first case in North America and will bring the cooperation to a new stage.

After the ceremony, the delegation from Renji Hospital with President Li Weiping as the head held a discussion about curriculum building, scientific research and new clinical technologies with representatives from internal medicine, surgery, gynecology and family medicine of the medical school of uOttawa. The two parties made the first step in cooperating on undergraduate education, residency training and continued education. The delegation from Renji Hospital also attended the commencement ceremony of the medical school of uOttawa as special guests, which is the first time for the medical faculty of uOttawa to invite overseas partners to witness this venerated ceremony.

(Reporter Yi li, li Shao / Translator Yuanyuan Chen)