Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University
- Pioneering Western Medicine in China
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (SYSMH) was founded in 1835 as an ophthalmological practice by the American missionary Peter Parker. It is known as the first western medicine hospital and the cradle of western medical education in China. Dr. Sun Yat-sen, widely regarded as the founding father of modern China, once studied at SYSMH and planned the democratic revolution that changed the whole nation.
SYSMH boasted many “first cases” in China’s history, such as performing the first ophthalmic surgery, the first amputation, the first cystolithotomy, the first pathology specimen dissection, administering the first ether and chloroform anesthesia, taking the first X-ray image and publishing the first medical journal. It also nurtured China’s first overseas medical student and first professional nurse, both of whom played pivotal roles in advancing the development of Western medicine in China.
- Extending Healthcare Capacity
SYSMH has been engaged in bringing the best medical care to its patients, and is now one of the top Grade A Tertiary comprehensive hospitals in China. It has five hospital campuses and one clinic: the North (Riverside) Campus, the South Campus, the Huadu Campus, the Shenshan Medical Center in Shanwei, as well as the Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) Clinic in Guangzhou. The Gulf Hospital Campus is under construction and is expected to open in 2029.
There are more than 5,700 staff members in the hospital, including 278 full professors and 523 associate professors. SYSMH currently has 3,813 inpatient beds, including 3,013 beds in Guangzhou and 800 beds in Shanwei. It performs over 150,000 surgeries, receives over 4.05 million outpatient visits, and discharges over 220,000 inpatients annually.
- Seeking Excellence in Medical Service
SYSMH currently has seven national key disciplines, including nephrology (internal medicine), endocrinology and metabolism, general surgery, neurology, oncology, otolaryngology, and ophthalmology; 18 national key clinical specialties, including orthopedics, gynecology, oncology, endocrinology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, pediatric hematology, emergency medicine, urology, general surgery, cardiology, otolaryngology, neurology, transplantology, medical imaging, rehabilitation medicine, pediatrics, dermatology and clinical pharmacy; 29 Guangdong provincial clinical key specialties, and 16 Guangdong provincial high-level clinical key specialties. Being one of the Guangdong Provincial High-level Key Hospitals that excel in medical practice and scientific management, SYSMH has undertaken the National Difficult Diseases Diagnosis and Treatment Project (oncology), and earned the National Organ Transplant Certification for liver, kidney, heart and lung transplants.
- Encouraging Research Innovation
SYSMH adheres to an innovation-driven development strategy. It has one national-level international scientific collaboration base which focuses on long non-coding RNA and difficult diseases, one national major new drug development and clinical research evaluation technical platform, and other provincial or national labs/platforms, such as the Guangdong Key Laboratory. Numerous outstanding scientific projects have been funded, with annual grants exceeding 427 million yuan. Multiple research findings have been published in prestigious journals such as Cell, Nature, and Science, among which one was selected as one of “the World’s Top Ten Scientific Breakthroughs” by Science in 2003, two were awarded the Second Prize of the State Natural Science Award of China in 2015 and 2023, respectively, and two were listed as China’s higher education institutes’ Top Ten Scientific Breakthroughs by the Ministry of Education of China in 2008 and 2019, respectively. According to the Nature Index ranking of healthcare institutions by research output, SYSMH has become one of the world’s top 100 research-oriented healthcare institutions, with the best record of being ranked 65th in the world and 4th in China.
- Contributing to Medical Education
Canton Hospital, the predecessor of SYSMH, founded the Boji Medical School-China’s first western medical school in 1866. Based on educational traditions passed on for over a century, the hospital has created its own teaching model with Lingnan features. The hospital has integrated education with its history and culture, cultivating and motivating students with patriotism advocated by Dr. Sun Yat-sen and professional ethics emphasized by distinguished professors. The hospital is responsible for teaching more than 1,000 full-time undergraduates, 850 full-time postgraduates and over 500 advanced students every year. It is one of the five largest institutions offering eight-year medical doctoral education in China and the first to implement standardized training for teachers in SYSU's medical system. It is also one of the first training bases for specialized physicians and clinical pharmacists approved by the National Health Commission of China.
