College survey on our Training and Examination systems

Our College was established more than a decade ago in 1997, and our founding President, Dr. Chung CH, is going to retire later this year. Therefore this may be about time for us to stop, review and see how far we have achieved and accomplished our goals and objectives in setting up the College. Our ultimate objective and goal must be to produce competent EM specialists that can serve our local community well.

We do have achieved a lot during the past years. We now have subspecialties developed like Toxicology and Sport Medicine; and we have been delivering a lot of training to our trainees here in Hong Kong, and also healthcare personnel in Macau and some parts of Mainland China.

Yet we have never taken a formal review on our Training and Examination systems, the two core businesses of our College. We have a major change last year in having our Intermediate examination replaced by the UK MCEM examination. The format of the MCEM examination is no doubt better than that of the conjoint examination previously held by our College and the Edinburgh College. But it is better if any changes come from our own initiatives and visions rather than external ones. Ultimately, it is us who know best our needs and limitations and therefore the best solution to our problems.

I t is with this in mind that the College Council has set up a Task Force to study the merging of our College Education and Examination Committees and at the same time to have a robust study and review of our Training and Examination systems, with a view to come up with recommendations to any necessary changes, taken reference to overseas practices and our local needs and limitations.

To this end, the first and most important step is to solicit inputs from all Trainees and Fellows of our College regarding their views on our current Training and Examination systems and what sort of changes they want or expect. Therefore the Task Group has drafted a survey questionnaire to be distributed in June 2010 to all Trainees and Fellows through their COSs to solicit such inputs. The Task Group members will also conduct focus group discussions in each and every AED afterwards with their Trainees and Fellows for a more detailed collection of their views and comments.

On behalf of the Task Group, I would sincerely ask you to give your views and comments via completing and returning the questionnaire, attending the focus group discussion, or directly talking to any members of our Task Group.

Dr. Tung Wai-kit, Chairman of College Task Group on the merging of Education and Examination Committees