Practice Of Primary Healthcare:A Study On Village Doctors In Yongxin County,Jiangxi Province

Rural doctors are a product of China’s unique medical practice.Since the reform and opening up,rural primary healthcare has long relied on rural doctors as the "bottom layer" to maintain.After the 2010 s,voices claiming that rural doctors are declining began to emerge.This article focuses on the changes that rural doctors have undergone since their development,why they are declining,and these issues.This article reconstructs the history of the rural doctor community since the reform and opening up,and discovers that the decline of rural doctors is related to their inability to meet the expectations of the state and society in terms of their roles and functions.The development of rural doctors in Yongxin County is roughly in sync with the development of rural doctors nationwide,beginning after the reform and opening up.However,for a long time,most residents of Yongxin County referred to rural doctors as "clinic operators" until around 2000 when they were recognized by the local community as a unique group of medical practitioners.The medical practice of rural doctors did not emphasize their identity as doctors.Instead,they preferred to present themselves as "local people" in their practice,with neighborly relationships guiding their communication with patients.This article describes how rural doctors perform their duties,points out the inevitability of the decline of rural doctors,and discusses the potential direction of the rural primary medical and health service system in the future.It also highlights the valuable medical practice experience that is formed through the interaction process between rural doctors and patients,providing a reference template for more equal doctor-patient communication,and emphasizes the importance in establishing better doctor-patient relationships.