Introduction
Hong Kong is a special Chinese administered city with one of the most populous inhabitants (7 million) out of which 93% are Chinese ethnic. Hong Kong has one of the most expansive skyline also known as vertical city. Official languages are Chinese and English. The city is one of the most industrialized with freest economy. City has highly developed public transportation covering 90% of population.
Health care system in Hong Kong is well developed. 42 public and 13 private hospitals are working efficiently in the city making it third highest life expectancy country after Japan and Switzerland. The city has 4th lowest child mortality rate in the world which shows advancement of Hong Kong in Health care.
More health statistics can be found on Department of Health of Hong Kong page
Undergraduate Medical Education
Admission in universities are based on an examination and interview. After which students are selected and admitted in undergraduate program in medicine.
Basic Medical Education in Hong Kong comprises 5 year. Graduates are awarded with MBBS degree followed by one year of internship. Internship is usually in four major clinical disciplines e.g surgery, medicine, pediatrics and Obs/Gynecology and consists of three months rotation in each department. Apart from modern medicine, traditional Chinese medical education is also popular in the country.
Some universities e.g. Chinese University of Hong Kong gives 6 year degree of MBChB. After that local medical graduates can apply for Hong Kong medical residency training program.
Hong Kong medical Residency
Entry into Hong Kong medical residency training in desired field for doctors and foreign medical practitioners is only possible after getting registered with Medical Council of Hong Kong. Specialty training and fellowships detailed guidelines, details, entry requirements etc all can be found on Hong Kong Academy of Medicine website.
Licence/Registration
All medical graduates except graduates of the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong must pass the Medical Council’s Licensing Examination and complete preregistration internship training & assessment in approved hospitals or institutions in order to get registered with Medical Council of Hong Kong to work as medical practitioners.
There are five types of local and foreign doctors registration in Hong Kong with the Council
- Provisional registration (issued to those who pass licensing examination)
- Full registration (after provisional registration and internship)
- Limited registration (for maximum 1 year but extendable for another year, in case of any employment offered in Hong Kong)
- Temporary registration (in case of clinical teaching or research)
- Specialist registration
Eligibility
For local and foreign doctors registration in Hong Kong. Eligibility Criteria to sit for licensing Examination is
- 5 year medical education including internship
- Application fee submission
- Good Character certificate
More detailed information about the above mentioned eligibility criteria.
Examination
Licensing Examination is bit lengthy three part exam.
- Part I : Professional knowledge exam (2 papers of 120 MCQs each)
(basic medical sciences, medical ethics, community medicine, general medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry and obstetrics & gynecology)
- Part II : Medical English Proficiency test
- Part III : The Clinical Examination
Clinical scenario based exam in medicine, obstetrics & gynecology, surgery (general & orthopedic) and pediatrics
Medical Council of Hong Kong has set detailed guidelines and pattern of examination for local and foreign doctors.
However there are some exemption criteria for stages of exam.
For specialists see under Procedure heading
Guidance to First Sitters for Licensing Exam
Fee
Application fee (for foreign doctors registration in Hong Kong as candidate) HK$1,380 or 180 USD
Examination fee
- Part I Examination in Professional Knowledge HK$3,010
- Part II Proficiency Test in Medical English HK$1,610
- Part III Clinical Examination
- All disciplines HK$3,220
Single discipline (re-sit candidates only) HK$1,200
Fee for provisional registration is 44 USD or 335 HK$
Fee for specialist foreign doctors registration in Hong Kong is 1060 HK$ or 137 USD
Salary
Salaries in Hong Kong are high. For GP 5000-8000 USD/month
Procedure
Steps to be followed by foreign medical graduates:
- Check if you are eligible for sitting for licensing examination of Medical Council
- Apply to medical council with all relevant documents.
- pay the fee for examination
- Sit for exam at the designated center
- pass all examination parts
- apply for provisional registration
- apply for internship place and finish mandatory internship and assessment
- apply for full registration
- apply for Hong Kong medical residency training at Hong Kong Academy of Medicine for further specialty training.
For Specialist.
- Apply to Hong Kong Academy of Medicine with all required documents and get accreditation certificate from them
- With that certificate and all qualifications fill specialist registration application form in Form section, pay fee and apply for specialist registration at Medical Council of Hong Kong.
Documentation
All required forms have guidelines in them and list of documents to be attached with your application. These can be found here.
Postgraduate Medical Education
Postgraduate Education and Training can be done as master’s degree program University of Hong Kong Li ka Shing School of Medicine , Chinese university of Honkong medical school, and others offers wide range of programs in research and clinical disciplines. Also a vast variety of CPD courses are offered for doctors.
After foreign doctors registration in Hong Kong as General Practitioner Hong Kong Academy of Medicine offers vast range of Fellowships which is another alternative for doctors. Currently 64 specialties have been recognized by Medical and Dental Council by this academy.
Apart from this there are regular courses, programs, workshops offered by different institutes which provide great platform for doctors in Hong Kong.
I am a consultant anaesthetist in Pakistan.
I want to work in anaesthesia department in HONG KONG.
Please guide me
Dear doctor. if u read post under procedure heading u can see that first u should apply to Hong Kong Academy of Medicine for accreditation http://www.hkam.org.hk/ (means they should give u certificate that your qualifications are equal to those specialists working in Hong Kong as anesthesiologists) then once u get it u should fill this form http://www.dh.gov.hk/english/useful/useful_forms/files/FormM16.pdf and pay their fee and attach all required documents with your complete application form and apply to Medical and Health Council of Hong kong http://www.mchk.org.hk/
Hi
I completed my MBBS in China tongi medical college (Wuhan) ,6years including one year internship and one year pre medicine ,as I checked the criteria I hope I m elugiblie to attend the exam,I want to know that the registration can be done out of hong Kong or not ,is there are exam centres out of hong hong
Well i dont think there is an examination center our of Hong Kong. but u can find more information here http://www.mchk.org.hk/licensing_exam/index_e.htm
and check for exemption crieria from exam here http://www.residencydatabase.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/guidelines2_exemption.pdf
hi im a MBBS doctor from india. i did my ug from prestigius B J MEDICAL COLLEGE PUNE. from MUHS university nashik, mahardhtra state.india.
i like to know how to aply for post graduation in orthopedic/radiology ?
what is the duration of whole process.?
can i get the whole deatails.?
kindly read the procedure section. for pg training in orthopedic or any other clinical field it can be done only after getting registration in Hong Kong. and for that u will be required to pass an exam. see these guidelines as well http://www.mchk.org.hk/licensing_exam/index_e.htm
and check if u are exempted from exam here http://www.residencydatabase.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/guidelines2_exemption.pdf
I did MBBS from china in 2009. I have 5 and half yrs experience of house officer in ENT (Otorhinolaryngology) DEPARTMENT, can i work as a trainee in ent department over there.
yeah only if you pass licensing exam first. there is detailed procedure in the post. kindly follow that.
Great information ,god bless u.
Thanks for giving such valuable info.
just wanna clear do i need home registration or any other country registration to apply for exam coz as u mentioned i need to submit “good standing certificate” and definitely Im not going to get it till Im not registered with any council,any idea ?
And do they pay in internship mean when i working with provisional registration
Thanks.
yes you need to be registered in atleast one country before you apply for Hong Kong
if someone is graduated from chinese medical university .is it compulsory for him to pass PMDC exam first to be elligible for hong kong state medical licensing exam?
No he can get license from China as well. But license is important from any country
Can u plz guide me how to submit fee for the examination..
Also are there any preparatory material available professional knowledge exam?
Regards,
Sir there is detailed information about fee payment (bank account information etc) here. http://www.mchk.org.hk/english/exam/files/Guidance_Notes_to_Candidates-English.pdf