Core Overview and Historical Evolution
Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University is the First Affiliated Hospital and the First Clinical Medical College of Southern Medical University, undertaking tasks of clinical treatment, medical education, medical scientific research, and preventive healthcare. It is a large-scale comprehensive Grade A tertiary hospital and a National Regional Medical Center. Founded in 1941, the hospital started as the Rear Hospital of the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army. In 1975, its designation was adjusted to the First Affiliated Hospital of the First Military Medical University of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and it was approved by the General Logistics Department to be known as "Nanfang Hospital" to the public. In 2004, following the restructuring and transfer of the First Military Medical University to Guangdong Province, the hospital was renamed Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University.
Campus Layout and Core Platforms
The hospital currently has the main campus and the Zengcheng Campus. In cooperation with the People's Government of Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, it co-builds a National Regional Medical Center relying on Ganzhou People's Hospital (Ganzhou Hospital of Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University). It now serves as an output hospital for the construction of National Regional Medical Centers, a co-constructed National Regional Medical Center for Trauma by the National Health Commission and the province, a unit for the National Project for Improving the Diagnosis and Treatment Capacity of Difficult and Severe Diseases (Tumors), a National Regional TCM (Rheumatology) Diagnosis and Treatment Center, a National Emergency Medical Rescue Base, a pilot unit for the construction of an integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine "Flagship" Hospital, a base for the Higher Education Discipline Innovation and Intelligence Introduction Program ("111 Program"), and a first-batch key construction unit of Guangdong Province's High-Level Hospital "Peak Program". It houses the State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research and the National Clinical Research Center for Chronic Kidney Diseases, as well as provincial-level research institutions including the Guangdong Institute of Nephrology, Guangdong Institute of Liver Diseases, Guangdong Institute of Traumatic Orthopedics, and Nanfang Institute of Digestive Diseases.
Disciplinary Advantages and Talent Strength
The hospital has 5 national key disciplines, 17 national key clinical specialties, and 4 national key clinical specialty construction projects (Neurology, Anesthesiology, Cardiovascular Medicine, Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine). Clinical Medicine and Stomatology are authorized for first-level discipline doctoral degrees. It has 1 academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7 dual-appointed academicians, and more than 60 national-level talents including Yangtze River Scholars, National Distinguished Young Scholars, National Excellent Young Scholars, and Young and Middle-aged Leading Innovators of the Ministry of Science and Technology. In 2006, Academician Hou Fanfan's research results on chronic kidney disease prevention and treatment were published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), attracting great attention from the international medical community and achieving a zero breakthrough for mainland Chinese scholars in publishing original articles in this journal. In 2019, Professor Li Guoxin's latest research results on laparoscopic minimally invasive gastric cancer treatment were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and incorporated into the US NCCN Guidelines. In 2022, Professor Zhang Huijie's clinical research results on dietary intervention for obese patients were published in NEJM, marking the first original clinical intervention research achievement in China's metabolic field published in this journal.
Performance Achievements and Ranking Status
In the 2023 public hospital performance monitoring, the hospital ranked among the A+ category. It has won 10 Second-Class National Science and Technology Progress Awards and 37 Provincial/Municipal First-Class Awards. In 2024, the number of projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China ranked 12th nationwide and 2nd in Guangdong Province. In recent years, in domestic authoritative hospital rankings, the hospital has steadily ranked among the top 15-20 comprehensive hospitals in China, with 10-15 specialties such as Nephrology, Infectious Diseases, Plastic Surgery, Hematology, Pathology, and Gastroenterology entering the top 10 nationwide or receiving nominations.
Cultural Heritage and Honorary Achievements
After 80 years of development and the hard work of several generations, Nanfang Hospital has grown into a high-level research hospital with strong comprehensive strength, distinctive disciplinary features, advanced management, profound cultural heritage, and a high reputation both nationally and internationally. In 1995, the Central Military Commission awarded the hospital's Overseas Chinese Medical Center the honorary title of "Model Medical Department for Overseas Chinese", with Comrade Jiang Zemin personally inscribing "Heal the Wounded and Rescue the Dying, Selfless Dedication; Work Hard and Keep the Original Aspiration Forever". The hospital has successively won honorary titles such as Advanced Unit of the Whole Army in Preventing and Treating SARS, National Heroic Collective in Earthquake Relief, National Advanced Collective in the Fight Against the COVID-19 Pandemic, National Advanced Grassroots Party Organization, National Model Unit for Learning from Lei Feng Activities, National Civilized Unit, and National Outstanding Collective in the Construction of Safe Hospitals. It has nurtured a group of model figures represented by Professor Luo Kangxian, a "National Moral Model" and "Model of the Times".
Hospital Philosophy and Future Vision
Marching forward in the new era, Nanfang Hospital will continue to be guided by the Party's new-era health work policy, adhere to the correct direction of hospital development, carry forward the motto of "People-Centered, Life First", and uphold the philosophy of "Medical Ethics First, Quality-Based, Characteristics-Prioritized". With high-quality development as the theme, it will take serving patients wholeheartedly as its responsibility and fulfilling social responsibilities as its priority, striving unremittingly to build a domestically first-class and internationally influential research hospital.
