25 programs added to no-exam medic scheme

An extra 25 medical qualifications from 21 nonlocal universities have been added to a special scheme that allows doctors to practice in Hong Kong without going through a licentiate exam.

The fourth list of recognized nonlocal medical schools, released yesterday, included seven programs provided by five mainland universities - Fudan University, Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sun Yat-sen University and Zhejiang University.

Other newly recognized programs are from medical schools in the United States, Australia and Britain, including University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.

The newly qualified medical programs consist of four to eight years' duration, bachelor to doctorate degrees and cover clinical medicine and philosophy qualifications for the first time.

Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mai said he is confident the additions will facilitate more nonlocally trained doctors to return to Hong Kong to support the city's health-care services.

Lo said most mainland medical programs are taught bilingually.

"Most of these medical programs offered by mainland institutes provide both Chinese and English. They provide high-proficiency English indeed," said Lo, adding that medium of instruction is not the only consideration.

He said the government will continuously assess all these programs to ensure they meet the requirements and standards of the two local medical institutions.

According to the special registration committee, the medical qualifications have to meet other criteria, including curriculum, level of degree or higher and rankings similar to the University of Hong Kong and Chinese University.

The committee has proposed a total of 100 medical qualifications for recognition from the fourth phase, along with the three phases announced last year.

It is now evaluating other nonlocal medical courses that meet the requirements in order to choose the next batch of recognized medical degrees.

New People's Party lawmaker Dominic Lee Tsz-king said mainland medical institutes with exceptional standards are welcome to join the list. He added: "It allows more doctors to be imported in order to alleviate the shortage in medical staff."

The latest batch of approved qualifications will be gazetted tomorrow with immediate effect and submitted to the Legislative Council for negative vetting on Wednesday.

Nonlocally trained doctors with recognized qualifications can apply for special registration to practice in local public health-care institutions if certain criteria are met.

They will be given permission to practice in Hong Kong after serving for a specific amount of time to attain certified qualifications.

anthony.ho@singtaonewscorp.com