Overseas doctors may get shorter training to ease manpower shortage … for now

The Medical Association has proposed that overseas doctors' internship training be shortened from a year to six months, as a way to ease a manpower shortage in public hospitals.

At present, overseas-trained doctors must undergo a 12-month internship after passing the Licentiate Examination of the Medical Council before being fully registered.

Another option is limited registration, which requires annual renewal of their licences after passing interviews and being assessed by the Medical Council.

Some foreign doctors have complained that the internship - for which the salary is a modest HK$20,000 per month - has put them off Hong Kong.

The association proposed yesterday that doctors could instead opt for a six-month internship then work for the authority for three years before obtaining full registration under the Medical Registration Ordinance.

Association president Dr Louis Shih Tai-cho said the proposal was a temporary measure to alleviate the Hospital Authority's manpower shortage. The authority had to recruit about 300 additional doctors this year and last, amid competition for staff from the private sector.