Mainland internships ‘could be option’ at proposed Hong Kong medical school
Two experts say planning and preparation for Hong Kong’s third medical school will take time
Mainland Chinese hospitals could be used as an interim option to offer internships to students from Hong Kong’s proposed new medical school, experts have said, stressing also that recruiting top teaching staff will be among the challenges faced by the institution.
Two experts on a government committee said that planning and preparation for the city’s third medical school would take time, with 10 to 20 years needed for it to grow.
“[Starting a new medical school] is something very major, difficult and challenging. It takes time and can’t be done in one day,” said Professor Joseph Sung Jao-yiu, an expert adviser of the task group.
Sung, a former president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and current dean of Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, said a good clinical training environment would be crucial for the new medical school.
“This is whether there are enough patients and hospitals to accommodate dozens more medical students for internship,” Sung said.
