National Tsing Hua University’s (NTHU) application to establish a post-baccalaureate medicine department has gained support from Hsinchu Science Park Bureau director-general Wayne Wang (王永壯) and other officials, the school said in a news release yesterday.
The university made the announcement after National Yang-Ming University (NYMU) in Taipei and National Chiao Tung University in Hsinchu City on Monday formally merged into one entity and vowed to promote precision medicine.
NTHU had also planned to merge with NYMU, but an agreement was not reached.
Photo provided by NTHU via CNA
Last year, the university submitted an application to the Ministry of Education to establish a post-baccalaureate medicine department, but it is still waiting for approval from the education ministry and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
There is a cap of 1,300 on the total number of medical graduates per year, and any adjustment would influence the distribution of the medical workforce, a source familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
Hsinchu Science Park’s (新竹科學園區) 150,000 workers and their families need more quality medical resources in Hsinchu, Wang was quoted as saying in the university’s news release.
Even though there are some hospitals in Hsinchu, local people still travel to bigger hospitals in Taipei or Taichung when they or their family members contract serious diseases, he said.
The government should review NTHU’s top-notch research achievements and approve its plan to set up the department, so that locals could have access to good physicians and medical centers, he added.
An excellent physician is often evaluated by their performance in research, teaching, outpatient treatment or other services, Hsinchu County Commissioner Yang Wen-ke (楊文科) said in the school’s news release.
Local hospitals could recruit better physicians if people could study further at NTHU, Yang said.
The news release also quoted Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) as saying that a new medical department would attract more talent to the city and boost local medical services.
Meanwhile, NTHU is planning to build an affiliated hospital in the Taoyuan Aerotropolis. Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) has welcomed the idea.
The school estimated that the hospital would be inaugurated by 2026, while the establishment of a medical department might take longer due to additional barriers.
NTHU is known for its engineering, medical science and nuclear research.
The school owns the nation’s only research nuclear reactor and has converted it into a device for boron neutron capture therapy and works with Taipei Veterans General Hospital to administer the therapy.
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