The medical education at Yangtze University starts in 1951, evolving through various phases, including Hubei Shashi Health School, Jianghan Medical College, Jingzhou Branch of Wuhan Medical College, Hubei Health Workers’ Medical College, and School of Medicine of Yangtze University. In 2015, Yangtze University Health Science Center was established, comprising the School of Basic Medicine, School of Health Science, and three Clinical Medical Schools.  

The Health Science Center offers 6 full-time undergraduate programs: Clinical Medicine, Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Clinical Medicine, Nursing, Medical Imaging Technology, Medical Laboratory Technology, and Preventive Medicine; with 2 First-level Discipline Master’s Degree Authorizations in Clinical Medicine and Basic Medicine, and 2 Master’s Degree Authorizations in Clinical Medicine and Nursing. Notably, Clinical Medicine and Nursing are recognized as national first-class undergraduate programs, while Medical Imaging Technology is a provincial first-class undergraduate program. The major of Clinical Medicine was approved by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health as the first pilot of “5-Year Clinical Medicine Talent Training Reform”, the first batch of outstanding doctor education and training program in 2012; later approved for Hubei’s “Jingchu Outstanding Talent” Collaborative Education Project in 2016, and accredited by the Ministry of Education in 2017.

The center boasts 442 full-time faculty members, including 334 senior professionals and 120 PhD holders. Among them are 2 experts receiving special allowances from the State Council, 3 top medical talents of Hubei Province, 1 medical leader of Hubei Province, 3 winners of Hubei May 1st Labour Medal, 1 Chutian Distinguished Professor, 2 Chutian Scholars, 4 Chutian Lecture Professors, 2 leading talents of Yangtze University, and 3 Elite Talents. Additionally, there are 284 master’s supervisors and 45 part-time master’s supervisors.

Over the past five years, the Health Science Center has established 1 Hubei distinguished teacher studio, 1 provincial teaching team, and 3 provincial outstanding grassroots teaching units. It offers 1 national and 8 provincial first-class undergraduate courses. Faculty have won 2 First Prizes of Hubei Higher Education Teaching Achievement, 1 First Prize of National Young Teacher Teaching Competition, 2 First Prizes of Hubei Young Teacher Teaching Competition, and 2 First Prizes of College Teaching Innovation Competition in Hubei Province. The department also operates a provincial clinical skills experimental teaching demonstration center and a provincial model practice training base.

In recent years, the Health Science Center has secured 266 research projects, including National Natural Science Foundation of China, with total funding reaching 29.78 million yuan. Faculty have published 473 high-impact papers and 16 monographs, earning 2 Second Prizes of Natural Science in Hubei Province, 1 Second Prize of Provincial Scientific and Technological Progress Prize, and 1 Third Prize of China Industry-University-Research Award for Innovation and Promotion.

The teaching and experimental centers span over 21,000 square meters, equipped with more than 2,000 instruments valued at 30 million yuan. The Research Laboratory Centre has three provincial-level research platforms—Hubei Molecular Diagnostic Technology R&D Platform, International Joint Base of Science and Technology for Anti-tumour Natural Product Molecular Pharmacology Research, International Joint Base of Science and Technology for Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology; along with 7 university-level research institutes. It has various kinds of large scientific research instruments and equipment, such as cell metabolism analyzers, flow cytometers, and multi-modal animal in vivo imaging systems, etc., which can support interdisciplinary research requirements in different directions, and provide good conditions for cultivating innovative talents and teachers to carry out scientific research.

The Health Science Center emphasizes the cultivation of students’ comprehensive quality and the improvement of their practical ability through series of education activities with medical characteristics, such as like the “Apricot Forest Culture Festival”, “Angel Health Action”, and the “Eight-in-One”. Students excel in the National “Challenge Cup” Extracurricular Academic and Technological Works Competition for College Students and various professional skills competitions for medical students nationwide. Long-term international teaching and scientific research collaborations span the America, England., Ireland, South Korea, Japan, Russia, Australia, Czech Republic and other countries and regions.

The Health Science Center has efficient medical resources for clinical teaching bases, including 2 directly affiliated hospitals, 3 non-directly affiliated hospitals, 6 teaching hospitals, 32 internship hospitals, and 8 community health practice bases, forming a thorough clinical teaching system.  

Affiliated First Hospital (Jingzhou First People’s Hospital) is a comprehensive Grade III-A hospital integrating prevention, medical treatment, teaching, scientific research and rehabilitation, with 2,829 employees, 623 doctoral and master’s degree graduates, 25 personnel with second-level and third-level post titles, and 472 personnel with senior titles. Now it has 3,000 beds, 87 clinical departments, 40 provincial key clinical specialties, and the oncology department is the national key clinical construction speciality. It houses 3 major labs of national innovative drugs and translational medicine, molecular biology, and tumor tissue specimen bank, 17 standardized residency training bases, and 1 provincial clinical medical research centre (Hubei Clinical Medical Research Centre for Individualized Diagnosis and Treatment of Tumor).

Affiliated Jingzhou Hospital (Jingzhou Central Hospital) is also a comprehensive Grade III-A hospital integrating prevention, medical treatment, teaching, scientific research and rehabilitation, with more than 2,893 employees, including more than 735 doctoral and master’s degree graduates, 25 personnel with second-level and third-level post titles, and 536 personnel with senior titles. Now it has 3,000 beds, 38 clinical departments, 9 medical and technical departments and 88 professional groups. There are 41 provincial key clinical specialties, 5 provincial regional centers jointly built by the committee and the city, and 18 national standardized training bases for resident doctors. The hospital is a national drug clinical trial institution, listed on the National Clinical Medical Research Centre for Infectious Diseases Clinical Microbiology Workstation, and it hosts a provincial clinical research center (Pathogenic Fungal Infection Diagnosis and Treatment Clinical Medical Research Centre of Hubei Province).

“Idle boast the strong pass is a wall of iron, with firm strides we are crossing its summit”. Standing on a new historical starting point, the Health Science Center will fully rely on the solid platform of science, technology and humanities of a comprehensive university, inherit the motto of Yangtze University, follow the medical education philosophy of “Virtue, Diligence, Benevolence, Innovation”, and aim to build a world-class institution and cultivate top-tier medical talent, forging new frontiers in medical education.