XN000022-1987-09-29 — Page 2

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1987

WORKING PARTY RECOMMENDS MEDICINE ACADEMY

**

AND

KONG

THE WORKING PARTY ON POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION TRAINING IS GOING TO RECOMMEND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A HONG ACADEMY OF MEDICINE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN HONG KONG.

THE RECOMMENDATION IS CONTAINED IN THE WORKING PARTY'S INTERIM REPORT WHICH IS BEING CIRCULATED TO THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY FOR COMMENT.

RELEASING THE REPORT AT A PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY (TUESDAY), THE CHAIRMAN OF THE WORKING PARTY, DR ΚΕΙΤΗ HALNAN, EXPLAINED THAT THE PROPOSED ACADEMY WOULD NOT BE A SINGLE NEW PLACE OF EDUCATION OR A NEW MEDICAL SCHOOL OR UNIVERSITY. INSTEAD, IT WOULD BE A STATUTORY BODY COMPRISING A LARGE GROUP OF SENIOR LEARNED DOCTORS WHO WOULD ORGANISE AND SUPERVISE THE TEACHING, TRAINING, EXAMINATION AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE FINAL ACCREDITATION AND AWARD OF POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL QUALIFICATIONS.

DR HALNAN POINTED OUT THAT AT PRESENT HONG KONG ALREADY HAS TWO MEDICAL FACULTIES AT THE TWO UNIVERSITIES, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS, SOCIETIES AND A FEW MEDICAL COLLEGES, BUT AN OVERALL COMPREHENSIVE ACADEMIC BODY COVERING THE WHOLE FIELD OF MEDICINE WAS LACKING.

'UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION IS VERY WELL ORGANISED BY THE TWO UNIVERSITIES TO A VERY HIGH STANDARD. IT IS HIGHLY DESIRABLE THAT THERE BE SIMILAR STANDARDS AND SYSTEMS OF POSTGRADUATE TRAINING IN ALL THE SPECIALITIES WHILE PRESERVING FLEXIBILITY AND THEIR NECESSARY DIFFERENCES, SAID DR HALNAN QUOTING THE FINDINGS OF THE INTERIM REPORT.

THE WORKING PARTY NOTED

THAT CLOSE COLLABORATION IS NEEDED BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT SPECIALITIES AND SOME OF THE NEWER ONES CROSS TRADITIONAL SPECIALITY BOUNDARIES.

THE WORKING PARTY IS OF THE VIEW THAT PROLIFERATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIALITIES IS BOUND TO CONTINUE WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENCE.

"IT IS IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN AN ADEQUATE PRELIMINARY TRAINING IN THE APPROPRIATE BASIC SCIENCE, GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE PARENT DISCIPLINES AND THE MOST UP-TO-DATE TEACHING IN THE SPECIALITIES THEMSELVES," DR HALNAN SAID.

HE POINTED OUT THAT AT PRESENT POSTGRADUATE EXAMINATIONS SUCH AS MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS (M.R.C.P) AND FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS (F.R.C.S.) HAD BEEN CONDUCTED BY BRITISH OR AUSTRALASIAN ROYAL COLLEGES AND FACULTIES. "WHILE HONG KONG WILL MAINTAIN ITS COLLABORATION WITH THE OVERSEAS COLLEGES, IT HAS BECOME ESSENTIAL THAT HONG KONG SHOULD NOW SET UP ITS OWN MEDICAL ACADEMY TO GRADUALLY TAKE OVER THE OVERALL ARRANGEMENTS,' DR HALNAN SAID.

ון

THE PROPOSED