52 -
Proposed licensing examination for medical graduates
Following is a question by Dr the Hon Conrad Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Health and Welfare, Mrs Katherine Fok, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Regarding the Medical Council's proposal that medical graduates from the local universities have to sit and pass a Universal Licensing Examination after 1997 before they can practise medicine in the territory, will the Government inform this Council:
Reply:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
(b)
whether it is aware of the reasons and background of the Medical Council's proposals;
of the merits and demerits of the proposal; and
whether it knows if adequate consultation has been conducted by the Medical Council before proposing the change; if so, will the Government ask the Medical Council to provide details of the consultation process and its outcome; if not, why not?
The Chairman of the Medical Council has briefed the Government on the reasons and background of the Medical Council's proposal, which is that medical graduates of the two local universities should be given a grace period of five years, after which they would be required to sit for and pass the Licensing Examination before they could practise in Hong Kong.
The merits of requiring local graduates to sit for the Licensing Examination are:
(i)
it would provide fair and equitable treatment for all medical graduates, irrespective of where they are trained; and