Onboarding of Healthcare Professionals in China

Now, you have selected and offered the cross-border clinician who will be coming to your organization to work soon, bringing great value as a world expert in the field of practice. It took many months of intense talent acquisition efforts to reach this point.

Having lived, trained and worked outside China, the next question is whether this incoming clinician will be able to adapt to China and your organization? Will he/she leave the organization because of the inability to settle inadequately? Will his/her family be able to adapt too?

Here are several pointers for onboarding a new clinician who may also be apprehensive in coming to China, with much unknowns and China is a ”foreign” country in his/her perspective.

Some Tips for the Incoming Clinician to China:

Housing

Having an introduction to the housing areas surrounding your healthcare organization allows a preview of the place you will be likely living in. Offer more alternative locations, rental rates and where current clinicians stay provides benchmarking opportunity for a comparison.

A reliable housing agent can also be of great help in settling in – He/She can recommend districts, types of accommodation available, communicate with the landlord (especially if there is a language barrier), arranging the rental contract, etc.

A good housing agent can help deal with minor problems at home like a blocked pipe, leakages, and even arrange for utility bills to be paid by you.

Education

For those with school-going children, schooling is a major concern, and there are many choices in main cities in China. There are choices from local schools, local-international schools to international schools, the latter being the most expensive.

Depending on the benefits package and preference, the school selection can include visits to the schools, speaking with the teacher/s, principals, and current students/parents, These school contacts and support for you will certainly help in settling in with more ease; your HR or friendly search consultant can provide some of these contacts.

Permits

The work permit and residence permit are 2 different permits. Typically your HR will advise on the processing of these permits. A visit to the Police station is needed for some of these permits. In addition, the medical license is another document which has to be applied for in advance for clinical practice in China.

Clinical Practice Matters

Do quickly get used to the electronic medical record (EMR) system as soon as possible. This forms the backbone of your clinical practice.

Some are bilingual (Chinese/English) and need getting used to, in particular drug and procedure names. The more you use and practice on the EMR, the easier it becomes; the last thing you want is to have to struggle through the EMR drug prescribing when you have tons of other daily living matters to resolve and get used to.

Daily Living

Payment Systems – Electronic payments are the mainstay in China now, namely by Wechat and Alipay.

In fact, some people and shops do not have much cash, so when change is needed, it is often not available. Yes, China is now very much a cashless society.

Both Wechat and Alipay are therefore highly essential for daily living in China. One will need to register a China SIM card and a Bank Account (a Bank in China), in order to register as a user of these payment systems.

Setting up a bank account can take some time at the bank (a couple of hours if lucky) as using a passport is needed. This then leads to the SIM Card, which if one leaves China and not using the SIM card for more than 3 months, it will be deactivated permanently.

These 3 are very important for your daily living:

SIM Card – Phone Number (Keep it unchanged)

Passport – Beware when you change passport, there are many changes needed in other areas

Phone – Don’t lose it! It is part of your life in China

Getting Around – Taxis and Didi. Taxis are straight forward to use but some can be less than optimal hygiene, while DIdi Premier is at certain times cost as much as a taxi but is of a much higher standard. Didi will need you to register with the usual documentation ie. Passport, phone number.

High Speed Rail (HSR) & Flights – China has the largest HSR network in the world, it looks good, fast, and always on time. HSR has enabled travel within China to be easy and affordable. You can buy HSR tickets on C-trip app, but will again need you to register.

The Annex has selected Apps which we recommend for you to download, making life easy for you.

Language & Accessing Websites

VPN – A good reliable VPN allows you to access the websites not accessible normally in China due to firewall restrictions which are part-and-parcel of life in mainland China. Download one outside China before entering China though many have varying reliability; alternatively contact your friendly search consultant who will advise before you arrive in China.

Language – Some cities have less English usage than others, therefore if you require translation, Baidu translation (similar to Google translate), or Wechat translate can be most helpful. Again the Apps are in the Annex for you.

Taxes

Taxes can be high in China and it is a global tax. For now, foreigners in China may use Fapiao to legally reduce taxes liable. Fapiao is basically a tax on the spot when your living expenses within China are being paid for, rental accommodation, food and laundry being the most common and acceptable.

Buddy System

Having a buddy system with another overseas clinician who has lived in China for a while is a good way to ease the entry to living in China. The tips and advice shared allow not only settling in but also forms bonds in the organization. Your HR can recommend a suitable buddy.

Embassy/Consulate

Do register with your consulate, in case of emergencies, contact can be made. The consulates are also a point which the fellow countrymen/women congregate around, for you to know the community away from your home country.

Some overseas clinicians stay completely inside an “expat bubble”, which we at TALENOS do not recommend. Working and living in China is an opportunity to understand more on how the local communities live, work and play (This is in addition to socializing with other foreigners in China which is also important for shared information and networking/support). It is with an open mind that we encourage clinicians and their families when presented with such positions to become better exposed to other cultures, in particular, China which has thousands of years of history, deeply rooted cultures and is now one of the largest economies in the world.

At TALENOS, we value candidates and the opportunities they are presented with and will walk with them to ease them into living in China and other regional Asian countries.

For more information on any of the above, please feel free to contact: info@fhj.tzo.mybluehost.me

Annex

This list is a simple start but certainly not exhaustive:

Da Zhong Dian Ping

Didi

Ele ma

Tao Bao

JD.com

Baidu

Gaode Map

C-Trip