A guide to studying medicine in Hong Kong

Finding a place to study medicine is extremely challenging, whether in Hong Kong or at universities in other parts of the world. Jennifer Ma, founder and director of specialist consultants ARCH Education, asked a range of people with direct experience and expertise to give their thoughts and advice on different aspects of the process. 1. Relevant extra-curricular activities (ECAs) Actions speak louder than words when it comes to demonstrating interests and motivation. Therefore, anything like shadowing a professional, gaining international experience or spending time alongside clinical scientists or doctors will count in your favour. Such activities serve to test your own aptitude and determination to follow a career in medicine. It is also a chance to do some soul-searching and. later on, during the application and interview process can provide clear “evidence” of your personal drive and commitment. - Amit Shah, University of Cambridge Ma also notes that while universities in Britain usually require some relevant work experience in the form of hospital/ clinical placement and attachments, those in Hong Kong do not make this a mandatory requirement. 2. Community service Volunteering or taking part in community service projects is also useful for finding out if you have the altruism and empathy needed to study medicine. It is understandable, but some people find they don’t have the necessary patience or would simply prefer to focus on other things in their career. It is important to ask yourself the questions and realise early on that medicine may not be for you. - Andrew Kwok, who did pre-clinical at Cambridge University, then transferred back to the Chinese University of Hong Kong to complete his degree. Our selection process aims to identify candidates who can demonstrate the skills required of a successful medical professional. These include competencies such as communication skills, empathy, problem solving, initiative and resilience. We also ask candidates to demonstrate that they have undertaken relevant work or voluntary experience in order to gain insight into the realities of working in a caring profession. - Ferdinand Bulmer, International Officer, St George’s Medical School, University of London. 3. Do research and seek advice Talk to as many people as you can in different areas of medicine and get as many perspectives as possible. Then you can draw a map with you in the centre and the people you’ve spoken to all around, with notes underneath each name highlighting salient points you discussed plus the advice and opinions offered. This will help in identifying your priorities, crystallising your true values, and deciding the best way ahead. - Amit Shah, University of Cambridge, FRCS(Plast) MA(Cantab) MB/BChir. 4. Prepare for interviews All of my preparation followed the multiple-mini-interview (MMI) format, not unlike speed-dating, where interviewers test the key non-cognitive competencies needed for medicine. These include problem solving, communication skills and professionalism. Interviews can make or break any application, so preparation is essential. Personally, I found the most effective strategy was to anticipate the types of questions I would face, such as on motivation and work experience, as well as some likely role-plays, test scenarios and ethical dilemmas. This was supplemented by a log which I kept over the course of my hospital and volunteer placements. I practised responses aloud with friends and family, who were fantastic in providing constructive feedback - how you think you portray yourself can be very different from what other people perceive. - Andrew Hayward, King’s College London. 5. Be ready to talk about current events and the importance of medical research I felt well prepared for the medical school interviews, thanks to advice given by ARCH Education. The most memorable question I got was about the ethics of mitochondrial donation. It made a lasting impression because the British Parliament had approved human fertilisation and embryology regulations for mitochondrial donation just that week. It just goes to show how important it is to stay up to date with current events related to science and medicine, not just for the interviews, but also for your general medical education. - Jeremy Lin, University of Buckingham During my first year at medical school, I expressed an interest in research and was delighted to get funding to carry out projects on allergy and cancer biology during each summer holiday. As a result, I realised the importance of medical research for the advancement of clinical practice. Something learned from laboratory experiments may one day translate into a benefit for patients. Motivated by this experience, I successfully applied for the Cambridge MB/PhD programme, and am now carrying out PhD work on non-invasive cancer diagnostics. I am very interested in monitoring and understanding cancers by detecting mutations in DNA fragments released by cancer cells into the blood stream. I will graduate in 2020 with a medical degree and a PhD in cancer research. I then intend to pursue both academic and clinical training, so I can split my time between clinical work and medical research. - Jonathan Wan, University of Cambridge Ma encourages students to read widely beyond the confines of the science curriculum. Admissions panels, especially in the UK and US, are looking for students who are also interested in community healthcare initiatives and medical research. 6. Carefully select your country or region I believe the ethos among students at medical school in Hong Kong is very similar to that in local secondary schools: study hard with the goal of passing exams. This is a generalisation, but there is too little room for outside endeavours and not enough encouragement of exploration or creative thinking. In the United Kingdom, medical school was fun and enjoyable. Studying was still a large part of it, as medicine is a knowledge-intensive subject. However, there was active encouragement to explore beyond the confines of medicine, for example in learning other languages. In the United States, medical school is a graduate programme. Consequently, most people have thought long and hard about their choices, given the cost and time commitment. Students tend to be more mature and focused. There is also a strong drive to pursue research activities, with individuals sometimes taking time off to do this, in order to secure training posts in preferred specialties. If, though, you want to return to Hong Kong to practise after studying in the UK or US, you need to sit the Hong Kong Licentiate exam and repeat an intern year, which can be challenging. In my opinion, the exam is designed to fail candidates, unlike the equivalent licensing exam in the United States – the USMLE - which is designed to test a standard level of medical knowledge. Also, the lack of transparency regarding the Hong Kong licentiate exam makes it hard to gauge what and how to study. Even allowing for those difficulties, the experiences and training I received overseas, the lifelong friends I made, and the mentors I learnt from were unparalleled compared to anything available in Hong Kong. So, I would do it again if I had to. - Dr Jason Chan, Assistant Professor (Clinical), Director of Undergraduate Teaching, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong I am currently working as a clinical lecturer and am involved in research, teaching and clinical service. After obtaining my bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2009, I was awarded a Rhodes scholarship to pursue doctoral studies in cancer genetics at the University of Oxford, where I was also a junior research fellow and junior dean at Pembroke College. I had some great experiences at both CUHK and Oxford though they were very different primarily because of the different nature of undergraduate medicine and postgraduate research work. CUHK gave me a solid medical foundation and international exposure through overseas exchange programmes and medical electives. Oxford has a special charm because it is steeped in history, but also on the cutting edge in many areas of research. It’s terrific to see students who are enthusiastic about studying medicine, but the process of becoming a doctor and pursuing a medical career is also a personal journey which is different for everyone. Apart from meeting academic requirements, doctors have broad exposure to different people and difficult situations where there are often no easy answers. Also, medicine is a field which changes very quickly and presents new challenges for each generation. - Timothy Cheng, Clinical Lecturer, Department of Chemical Pathology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Chinese University of Hong Kong 7. Understand what a school offers Speak to current students, as every medical school has a slightly different style of teaching and you want to go somewhere which fits your own style of learning. - Babak Hakimian, BA (Hons), University of Cambridge, now taking an MBBS at Imperial College London. We aim to give students the necessary grounding in pre-clinical science, but also to train them as scientists, with a view to them following careers in academic medicine. - Professor Jeremy Taylor, Director of Preclinical Studies, University of Oxford. My experience at Oxford Medical School was very varied, ranging from in-depth discussions in small-group tutorials to tackling tricky laboratory research projects. Hard work resulted in the publication of research papers in international scientific journals, and a textbook. I also had the opportunity to undertake clinical placements in hospitals around the world, including Johns Hopkins in the US and in Hong Kong. I am now an academic foundation doctor based in Oxford pursuing a career as a clinician scientist. It hasn’t always been easy, but looking back, it has been rewarding. - Tiffany Tang, BA MedSci (Hons), BM BCh, AFHEA from the University of Oxford. Students of medicine at St George’s have the advantage of being based on a clinical site throughout their studies. They are integrated into a professional healthcare environment from day one of their studies. From the first term of their course, our students gain practical experience in the NHS (National Health Service), one of the world’s best healthcare delivery systems. They spend time in hospitals and clinics serving London's large and hugely diverse population. Our students therefore have the opportunity to learn alongside other healthcare professionals in training, helping to prepare them for the multidisciplinary nature of the healthcare workplace environment. Also, our “problem-based learning” curriculum fosters teamwork and prepares doctors for the lifelong collaborative learning which medicine entails.- Mr Ferdinand Bulmer, International Officer, St George’s Medical School, University of London. Ma adds that there are different teaching methods, ranging from traditional lectures to system-based, problem-based learning, and tutorials. Most medical schools offer clinical exposure from Year 1, but some initially focus only on the hard sciences. 8. Prepare for aptitude tests As an admissions exam specialist, Ma notes that admissions tests such as the UKCAT and BMAT, are now an important component of applications to medical schools in Britain. Therefore, applicants should equip themselves with the relevant exam techniques and be ready to do verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests and write essays. In terms of effective preparation, apart from exposure to exam techniques, there is no substitute for practice. They should take account of the type of questions, but also accurately simulate the test environment with regard to time constraints and format (written or computer-based). 9. Writing your personal statement Firstly, be honest with and about yourself. If you are not sure medical school is right for you, remember that there are many other health-related fields where you interact with patients and can have a profound impact. These include biomedical engineering, pharmacy, nutrition, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy. Secondly, for everything you include in your personal statement or curriculum vitae, anticipate likely question an interview will raise and have an outline answer in mind. Also, as an applicant show you are open minded and don’t try to suggest you have already chosen a specialty. No one can do that without the necessary exposure and experience. - Dr Jason Chan, Assistant Professor (Clinical), Director of Undergraduate Teaching, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Stay tuned for the next edition, which will be coming shortly. (Powered by Arch Education)

A guide to studying medicine in Hong Kong

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A comprehensive guide to studying in one of the city's most competitive fields