HHRDC’s core function is the organizer of national-level tests and exams for Chinese physicians and nurses. The most influential ones are the National Health Professional Technical Qualification Examination (a nationwide promotion test for health professionals) and the National Nurse Licensing Examination (the threshold test to work as a nurse). Below is a brief of the main tests and evaluation events given and organized by HHRDC. 

  

I. Aims 

HHRDC aims to become one professional evaluation service provider of the health care field with strong core advantages of sustainable development. It works on the health human resource development, management and services areas, and aims to provide services for the professional technicians, skill workers, managers and international human resources. It also aims to establish an efficient high quality security mechanism by the application of diverse evaluation methods based on relevant legislation, policy and marketing demands. 

  

II. Main Exams held by HHRDC 

  

National Health Professional Technical Qualification Examination 

National Nurse Licensing Examination 

Senior Health Professional Technical Qualification Evaluation of the Subordinated Organizations of the National Health Commission 

Selection of Honorary Experts with Special Contribution for the National Health Commission  

National Health Apparatus Management Qualification Examination  

Health Professional Technical Qualification Accreditation  

Overseas Clinical and Nursing Professional Qualification Verification  

Selection Exam for Candidates to International Organization Positions 

Other exams 

  

1. National Health Professional Technical Qualification Examination 

  

According to the need of governance and facilitated arrangement of national-level exams provided to health care professionals, to ensure the quality and competency of health professionals through promotion of technical level, the primary and middle level health professional skill qualification identification method is transferred from evaluation to a uniformed examination provided from the national-level and linked to the entrance examination system. The evaluation for senior professional qualification in health care is given through exam and expert review assessment. For a candidate for senior professional qualification, s/he should pass the exam and the assessment given through expert review. The primary and middle level professional qualifications concerning specialties of clinical medicine, preventive medicine, general medicine, pharmacy, nursing and other health disciplines will be given by passing uniform national level examination. Health Human Resource Development Center (HHRDC) of the National Health Commission is the implementing agency for the above qualification exams.  

  

The National Health Professional Technical Qualification Examination has been formally implemented throughout China since 2001. The structure and methods provided of the examination keep being adjusted and improved along with the development and working position changes in health care. Since 2007, 58 clinical disciplines started to use the computerized testing system. The new system can further simulate actual clinical scenarios and better test candidates’ professional practice skills. After the success of pilot implementation, in 2008, the scope using computerized test systems within the health qualification examinations increased to 64 disciplines. Currently, computerized test has been expanded to 108 of 118 specialties. 

  

2. Senior Professional Technical Qualification Evaluation of the Subordinated Organizations of the National Health Commission 

  

The high-level human resources for health are the most representative core workforce for China’s health professional teams. It has profound meaning and value to enhance the evaluation of high-level health professionals, and to further improve the development of the entire health workers team. HHRDC is entrusted by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the National Health Commission to identify the evaluation criteria for medical, pharmaceutical, nursing, technical and preventive medicine professional qualifications for the senior and higher level health professionals by organizing well-known experts within health care areas. It provides evaluation standards for all kinds of national health professional assessment and recruitment, and updated the standard criteria based on scientific development and team building. Meanwhile, HHRDC is entrusted by the National Health Commission to implement the senior and higher level professional qualification evaluation for the institutions subordinated to the NHC. The above testing and evaluation programs aims to promote health professionals’ development in a more open and equal way, to improve the development of socialized health human resource evaluation system and further enhance the health professional academic title reform.  

  

3. Selection of the Honorary and Senior Experts with Special Contribution for the NHC 

  

In 2001, the former Ministry of Health and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine developed the Management Method for the Selection of Junior and Senior Experts with Special Contribution for the Ministry of Health, to enhance the understanding of “respect labour, respect knowledge and respect creation”. It encourages excellent young and middle-aged experts to develop academic and technical levels through selection work of excellent experts, especially young and middle aged senior experts according to the Decision of Health Reform and Development of the State Council of the CPC Central Committee. HHRDC began to be in charge of this task since 2001. The work includes selection review meeting, organization of celebration meeting for the award-winning experts, assisting the NHC to publicly select young and middle-aged experts with special achievements and contributions within the national health system and so on. The selection of excellent expert event is organized once for every two years with no more than 80 award-winners each time. They are experts from clinical medicine, pharmacy, nursing, preventive medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, health management and other areas. It can further enhance the selection of higher-level health human resource and improve the reform and development of the health area from a more general perspective. 

  

4. National Health Apparatus Management Qualification Examination 

  

According to the government policy, management professionals of large-scale apparatus for healthcare use (including doctors, technical workers and operational workers etc.) must receive professional training and receive relevant professional entrance qualifications. In order to better implement the above regulations, 21 disciplines which include CT, MRI, PRK, CDFI, LA, X ray, and X（γ）ray machines doctors, technical workers, relevant physicians, testing workers and others have been given relevant examinations for evaluation of their professional knowledge of use of equipments. HHRDC is entrusted by Chinese Medical Association to develop the testing pools.  

  

5. Health Professional Technical Qualification Accreditation  

  

The Professional Technical Qualification Accreditation and Verification Center is a national approved and authorized health professional technical qualification identification organization commissioned by the National Health Commission. It is established on April 2000 and is responsible for the health professional qualification Accreditation and Verification and other works. It is managed by HHRDC. 

  

The Center is a national health professional authentication organization and is responsible for the accreditation of professionals of specific health industry services, and acts on national career standard development, test items bank, promotion and organization of professional technical competitions, identification of organizational standard, technical review and solution of other issues related. The current identified national vocations are: nursing assistants/workers of daily care, dental repair workers, therapists, disinfection workers, immunization workers, maternal and infant care workers, medical aid workers and others. 

  

6. Selection Exam for Candidates to International Organization Positions 

  

Along with the national reform and opening up, and the continuous development of international health cooperation and communication, health workers need to work abroad and more Chinese professionals are applying positions of international organizations such as World Health Organization, UNAIDS and other global institutions. It is necessary to establish a national talent reserve within the healthcare system to respond to the need of recruitment from health related international organizations. The selection exam is composed by English language proficiency test, assessment interview and other tests needed. 

  

  

7. Socialized Health Human Resource Evaluation 

  

In order to further evaluate all kinds of health human resources fairly and appropriately, HHRDC began to provide bespoke examination services for provinces and cities since 2005. At present, the testing disciplines include senior health professional technical qualification examinations, non-unified national health professional technical qualification examinations (like for new disciplines), compulsory entrance examination for some national-level public institutions, civil servant examinations, residency doctor standard training completion examinations and many others.