Govt Recognises 27 Overseas Medical Schools

The government on Wednesday announced that doctors with medical qualifications from 27 non-local universities will be eligible to apply to practise in Hong Kong.

They include 15 universities in the US, six in the UK, three in Canada, two in Australia, and one in Singapore.

The list was compiled by a government-appointed committee tasked with reviewing programmes offered by non-local medical schools with quality comparable to those provided in Hong Kong.

In a statement, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said the government would continue to enhance promotion and encourage more non-locally trained doctors to come back and work in the SAR.

"Given the current shortage of doctors in the public healthcare system, the announcement of the first batch of recognised medical qualifications is timely for qualified non-locally trained doctors to come to serve in the public healthcare institutions in Hong Kong through special registration as soon as possible," Chan said.

"For students who intend to study medicine outside Hong Kong, they may refer to the list when making their choices for further studies."

This follows the passage of a bill by the Legislative Council in October last year that allows non-locally trained doctors to apply for special registration to practise in the SAR's public medical sector without taking a local licensing exam.

They will be granted full registration to practise in Hong Kong after serving for a certain period.