Message from the President, Prof. Raymond Liang, January 2010

Dear Fellows,

The Hong Kong Academy of Medicine has the mandate to maintain a high standard of specialist training in Hong Kong. While we have been successful in achieving our goals in the past, we are facing new challenges. As new knowledge and technology are rapidly accumulating, there is a call for further sub-specialisation in many disciplines. At the same time, the global trend of limitation in work hours for doctor-in-training may potentially affect the effectiveness of the apprenticeship type of post-graduate education and training that we are offering. I believe it is timely that the Academy is taking active steps to address the issues. We need to fi nd out how we can train our future specialists adequately in the limited time and resources available. We may need a more structured programme dedicating training resources to our trainees. Also, we shall re-defi ne the competencies expected of a doctor completing our Fellowship training. The curriculum design, the method of training and the means of assessment all need to be revisited.

Under the leadership of our Vice-President (Education & Exams), Dr CT Hung, the Education Committee of the Academy is going through a series of discussion on this matter. A Post-graduate Medical Education Workshop was held in June 2009 with input from overseas experts. In the process, we have received many good suggestions on how we may modernise our Fellowship training programme. A position paper on the subject is now being drafted. All Fellows of the Academy will be invited to make comments on the document when it is ready. I am looking forward to having your input as this is an important step forward and will be an important task of the Academy for the coming year. I would appreciate your full support.

Wish you all a prosperous year of 2010!

Professor Raymond Liang
President