Rural doctors were originally called "barefoot doctors" and were born in the 1950s. Barefoot doctor, the predecessor of rural doctor, is a term that appeared after the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. It refers to the rural medical personnel who still hold agricultural registered permanent residence without formal medical training, and in some cases belong to "half agriculture and half medicine".

Rural doctors are an important part of China's medical and health service team, the health "guardian" closest to hundreds of millions of rural residents, and an important force in developing rural medical and health undertakings and ensuring the health of rural residents.

Development history

At that time, there were three main sources: one was the medical family; Two, graduated from high school, a little understanding of medical pathology; Third, some of them are young intellectuals who go to the countryside. Barefoot doctors have made positive contributions to alleviating the urgent need for medical treatment and medication in some rural areas of China.

1968 In September, Red Flag, the most influential magazine in China at that time, published an article entitled "Looking at the direction of medical education revolution from the growth of barefoot doctors", which was published in People's Daily on September 6, 1968.

Subsequently, major newspapers such as Wen Wei Po were reprinted in succession. The name "barefoot doctor" spread all over the country. "Barefoot doctor" is the product of rural cooperative medical system, and it is a kind name of rural members for "semi-agricultural and semi-medical" health workers. The cooperative medical system was gradually developed with the rise of agricultural cooperative movement after the founding of New China.