103 Southeast University Medical Students Reportedly Leave Original Programs

A presentation attributed to Southeast University’s School of Medicine in Nanjing says 103 of its 236 first-year medical students, or 43.6 percent, left their original programs following major changes and internal reassignment. The figures, circulated online in October, have renewed debate over the appeal of medical training in China, although the university has not publicly confirmed the totals.

Transfers hit medical imaging and laboratory programs hardest

The circulating presentation, titled “Rectification of Student Enrollment Loss,” reportedly described the figures as “shocking.” It said 133 of the original 236 students remained in the programs counted by their second year. That does not mean the other 103 withdrew from the university or that every student abandoned a career in medicine.

According to the figures summarized by Chinese-language outlet Secret China, 17 of 19 students in the medical laboratory science and biomedical engineering dual-degree track left their original program, a rate of about 89 percent. In the medical imaging and artificial intelligence track, 15 of 21 transferred, or 71 percent. The five-year clinical medicine program reportedly lost 17 of 51 students, while 39 of 86 left the integrated undergraduate-master’s clinical medicine track.

One online observer described the laboratory program’s losses as “a complete wipeout,” although students transferring into the program could increase its eventual class size. Southeast University’s official medical school website confirms that these medical and interdisciplinary degree tracks are offered, but it does not publish the claimed cohort-wide attrition figures.

Medical news outlet MedSci reported contacting the university’s student-records office. A staff member told its reporter that the data were “not publicly disclosed” and that online images should be used “for reference only.” MedSci also quoted a current student who said he was among the 103 who had successfully changed majors. Those accounts provide context but do not amount to an official verification of the presentation.

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Career concerns and transfer incentives complicate the picture

The departures may reflect more than dissatisfaction with medical careers. MedSci said the circulated slides identified a concentration of students from Jiangsu Province, along with admission-policy incentives and competition from other disciplines, as possible factors. Its report quoted a parent who said a recruiter had encouraged applicants to “get in first, then change majors” when discussing a medical imaging and AI degree. That allegation has not been independently verified.

Some online reactions focused instead on the cost and length of training and difficult prospects for young doctors. A physician quoted by MedSci argued, “To be frank, studying medicine with high scores is the worst deal,” saying that classmates who entered engineering often earned more. An anonymous commenter quoted by Secret China expressed the strain of medical work more simply: “There isn’t a single minute that belongs to you.” The identities and circumstances of such online commenters could not be independently confirmed.