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Newsletter September 1998
Hong Kong is having a tough time struggling along with the recession in economy. It affects everyone, but life just goes on as usual. Prolonged recession certainly will have an impact on organisations like our College. However, there might be opportunities too, especially when we are in the process of employing a full time administrative assistant. This administrative assistant should be in position when we moved into the new College chamber at Academy’s headquarters building at Wong Chuk Hang in October. With our usual careful and tight budgeting practices, the adverse effect of the recession should be minimised. In relation to the recession, the number of registrants for the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine First International Congress is still very disappointing, especially in relation to the total number of Academy Fellows in Hong Kong. Academy is seeking the co-operative efforts of all Colleges to help out by encouraging more Fellows to register for the Congress. It is our view that Colleges have to support the Academy, just like College Fellows supporting their own College. Apart from the plenary lecture on pain and the symposium on pain management, our College has also put up a satellite symposium on Difficult Airway Management. Congress brochures have been circulated to all of you earlier. Please act promptly. Do be reminded that our own Annual Scientific Meeting will be held on 5th-6th December. Your support is also very much needed for the ASM 98. A delegation with representatives from both the College and Society visited Society of Anaesthetists in Beijing and Shanghai in June. This was the first official visit from Hong Kong and the delegation met leading anaesthesiologists in Beijing and Shanghai during their week of stay. This is considered an extremely worthwhile visit whereby both China and Hong Kong anaesthesiologists got to know each other better. A seminar discussion was held in Shanghai on the training of anaesthesiologists. The delegation has received invitations to join the coming National Scientific Meeting which will be held at Hangzhou next May. Hangzhou should be quite beautiful in May and definitely worth a visit. If more anaesthesiologists from Hong Kong could join these scientific meetings, our relationship with China could certainly be improved much further. A summary report of the visit is enclosed in this newsletter. October is going to mark another new era for the College. The College Chambers at Academy Building will be ready for moving in. Bylaw 16 of the Academy will be rescinded. From then on all College Fellowship admissions will need a local element of assessment and / or training. The inaugural examination for Diploma in Pain Management will also be held in early October. All these will set the scene for our tenth anniversary next year. Council is looking into how we would celebrate such an occasion. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Dr CT Hung, President
Summary Report of Visit to Beijing / Shanghai, June 1998 Introduction The Visit During the stay in Beijing, the delegation visited two hospitals, namely Peking Union Medical College Hospital and the 301 PLA General Hospital. Dinner meetings were held with the leading members of PUMCH and the officials of Anaesthetic Society of China. The delegation also hosted a dinner in return. In Shanghai, the delegation visited the Ren Ji Hospital, Sixth Municipal Hospital and the Long March PLA Hospital. The delegation was also able to invite leading officials of the Shanghai Anaesthetic Society to dinner. On the last day of the Shanghai visit, a seminar discussion was held with the Shanghai Anaesthetic Society about Training of Anaesthesiologists at the Long March Hospital. It was followed by another glamorous dinner hosted by Shanghai Anaesthetic Society at the top floor of Long March Hospital. Some Observations Like Hong Kong, pain service is booming. Both intravenous PCA and epidermal are popular methods of post-operative pain relief. Sixth Municipal Hospital in Shanghai and a few other hospitals in Beijing where the delegation has no chance to visit are running good Pain Clinics. Both malignant and non-malignant chronic pain were taken care of. Again similar to Hong Kong, intensive care units have been under the care of different specialties. The delegation is also impressed about the equipment set-up in the hospitals visited. One of those has an Anaesthetic Information System in place connecting the Recovery Room with the Operating Rooms. .
Training of Anaesthesiologists in China Apart from the 5 year postgraduate program, there are a few Medical Universities or Medical Colleges in China that offer a special undergraduate training curriculum for Anaesthetists. This is akin to undergraduate curriculum for dentistry. Medical students who have been selected into the undergraduate Anesthetist Curriculum will be diverted to study anaesthesia only in the fourth and final year of medical curriculum. After graduation, they can only practice as anesthetist and not as a general doctor. In the hospitals visited, there is no differentiation between these two kinds of Anaesthetists as far as career structure goes.
Conclusion The visit has broadened our knowledge about anaesthesia, intensive care and pain management developments in China. This will allow College to formulate a better policy towards China in future. Finally I must thank all other members of the delegation for spending their precious time in joining this worthwhile visit.
Dr CT Hung on behalf of the delegation, June 1998
ADMISSION OF NEW MEMBERS AND FELLOWS 8 June 1998 Members Fellows in Anaesthesiology ad eundum Fellows in Intensive Care ad eundum
13 July 1998 Members Fellows in Anaesthesiology by examination Fellows in Anaesthesiology ad eundum
27 August 1998 Members Fellows in Anaesthesiology by examination Fellows in Anaesthesiology ad eundum Dr SL Tsui Dr TS Sze Dr Agnes Cheng Dr SK Ng Dr TY Chan Dr KW Au Yeung |
