190 Health
Dentists
Training in dentistry is available at the University of Hong Kong, which enrolled 57 dental students in 2011. During the year, seven candidates who completed their dental training outside Hong Kong passed the licensing examination conducted by the Dental Council of Hong Kong. Dentists are also encouraged to study further to enhance their professional competence.
Chinese Medicine Practitioners (CMPs)
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Baptist University, and the University of Hong Kong all offer full-time undergraduate degree courses in Chinese medicine. The HA also assists the universities in providing Western medicine training and clinical practice for their undergraduates. In 2011, 58 full-time local Chinese medicine bachelor's degree graduates who passed the licensing examination were registered as CMPs.
Currently, the Chinese medicine outpatient clinics under the HA are required to employ new graduates of degree courses in Chinese medicine as junior CMPs and to provide them with up to three years of training, including pre-employment training and clinical practice of western medicine, as well as inviting renowned experts and professors on a regular basis to give lectures in Hong Kong and provide specialist clinical guidance to trainees in the clinics. As at the end of 2011, 68 graduates in their first year training and 132 trainees in their second and third year training were employed in 16 Chinese medicine outpatient clinics of the HA.
To cater for the future development of the Chinese medicine speciality, the HA will arrange for CMPS to receive specialist training in Chinese medicine hospitals in the Mainland. After completing their training, the CMPs will have to return to Hong Kong to assist in the development of the Chinese medicine specialist service and the establishment of a Chinese medicine specialist team.
Allied Health Professionals
Hong Kong Polytechnic University offers degree programmes for allied health professionals in the fields of medical laboratory science, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, optometry and radiography. In 2011, 33, 70, 49, 40 and 51 students enrolled in these programmes respectively.
The Institute of Advanced Allied Health Studies under the HA devises structured long-term training plans for allied health staff and runs courses on specialist and multi-disciplinary training, clinical and personal development. These include a three- year in-service training course organised for new recruits of allied health grades. In 2011, a total of 60 training courses and a number of overseas scholarships were offered.
Nurses
The University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Open University of Hong Kong provide pre- registration nursing training. The four universities recruited 905 nursing students into their four-year full-time nursing degree programmes in 2011, while the Hong Kong