Seventy-two village doctors from minority groups in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region joined a 14-day training program in Beijing sponsored by the China Red Cross Foundation.

The training program, which ended Monday, was aimed at improving medical services for farmers and herdsmen in ethnic-dominated regions, said Guo Changjiang, vice president of the Red Cross Society of China, in an interview with Xinhua.

The trainees from six ethnic groups took part in training on the prevention and treatment of gynecologic, pediatric and orthopedic diseases. They also visited two hospitals in Beijing.

Ma Fang, a 28-year-old doctor with six years of clinical experience, said that she will put what she learned during the training into practice and better serve the people in her hometown.

"The program gave me an opportunity to learn from the country's top medical experts and it has broadened my vision," said Ma, who is of Hui ethnicity.

The foundation will continue providing free training to more village doctors, said Guo.

The training program, initiated in 2006, has trained 3,266 doctors from 25 ethnic groups at the village level in 26 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

In July, the government issued a guideline to ensure one clinic for each village or a "village doctor" for every 1,000 rural residents in order to improve health care services in the countryside.