• The Cultural Revolution targeted various professional groups. Doctors faced severe criticism and backlash.
• Main Accusation: Doctors, perceived as bourgeois elites, exploited their expertise for personal wealth without understanding the dignity of manual labor.
• Impact on the Profession
  • Medical priorities became secondary to political agendas.
  • Example: Surgeons abandoned surgeries to do tasks like sweeping floors to showcase unity with workers.
  • Some doctors, believing showing pain was a "bourgeois reaction", ceased using anaesthetics. Women giving birth suffered immensely.

🌍 Real-world Analogy: Imagine your teacher canceling a crucial lesson just to prove a point by cleaning the classroom.

• Despite medical professionals' criticism, Mao saw the benefits of proper healthcare for his propaganda.
• Change in Medical Training
  • Previously: Years of academic training.
  • New System: Short, six-month intensive practical courses.
• Once trained, these doctors would work amidst the peasants.
  • Fun Fact: This resembles how the Red Guards were sent into the countryside.
• Outcomes
  • By 1973, over 1 million new doctors were trained.
  • These doctors, known fondly as 'barefoot doctors', roamed rural China offering free treatments.
  • While they achieved significant success, they weren't a permanent solution for a complete national health service.

🌍 Real-world Example: Think of the barefoot doctors as "community superheroes" - doing their best but still needing a robust team to provide complete help.