Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1979

be Chinese-speaking. However, a knowledge of Chinese is clearly essential in the case of those entering the clinical years as many of the patients 一 possibly the great majority of those whose conditions will be studied by the students and the doctors who care for them—will be primarily Chinese-speaking and their knowledge of English limited. For this reason the students admitted to the medical course will need to be bilingual. This, therefore, will be an entry requirement. But there are other reasons why a sufficient knowledge of English is necessary. Many of the best students will, after qualification wish to study abroad perhaps in the United States, the United Kingdom or Australasia, for the purpose of gaining further experience and postgraduate qualifications so that, among other things, they may become the teachers of tomorrow. Because Hong Kong will, at least in the foreseeable future, only possess two medical schools and because it is now thought that postgraduate like undergraduate teaching should for the most part be firmly University based, opportunities for postgraduate study are bound to be limited here at home so that those wishing to gain further experience will inevitably need to spend some of their time abroad, most probably in other predominantly English- speaking countries. A knowledge of English is also necessary if temporary registration to practise abroad is sought, this usually being an essential aspect of postgraduate training. Teaching of Traditional Medicine The other two questions which I raised earlier relate to the pattern of undergraduate medical education to be followed and to whether attention should be given to the teaching of traditional Chinese medicine. The short answer to this question could be "No" which, I am aware, might possibly surprise some people. However, it is conceivable that this could one day turn out not to be completely true. Whereas in its broad outlines the medical course at C U H K will be based on the British pattern (there are several reasons why this is probably more appropriate to Hong Kong than the American style of medical education or that adopted in certain other countries) there is no reason to suppose that where traditional Chinese medical procedures are shown to be definitely effective that some knowledge of these should not be imparted to medical students. However, before any such teaching is included in the curriculum the real worth of what is taught must be established. This can only be done following adequate research. Some research, particularly into the active principles which may be present in certain Chinese herbal remedies is already under way. Out of this research it is conceiv that new knowledge may come—knowledge not only of value to those practising in Hong Kong but elsewhere also. As an illustration of this reference may be made to the plant Rauwolfia serpentina the root of which contains several alkaloids, notably reserpine,whic h is effective in the treatment both of some cases of severe mental illness and also high blood-pressure. The properties of Rauwolfia have been known to practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine in India for many centuries but it has only been known to Western m dicine for the last 25 years or so when it was introduced in the 1950s. However, it has now fallen once again largely into disuse owing to certain inconven side-effects and the fact that other drugs which have since been synthetized have been shown to be more effective. A rather different illustration is based on the comparatively new knowledge of certain naturally occurring pain-killing substances in the nervous system known as endorphins. Their presence may conceivably provide a rational explanation for the effects of acupuncture, which some now think may stimulate the activity of these substances. But it is still too early to say; much further investigation is required. The point of this digression, however, is to stress that all sound medical teaching in whatever speciality must rest firmly on a basis of research. Teaching and research are indivisible; all medical educators are unanimous on this point. This is why in appointing medical teachers great attention should be paid to selecting those who at a senior level have shown themselves to be proficient in research and at a more junior level, those who show promise in this direction. Flexibility of the British Pattern When I stated a short while ago that The Chinese University's medical course will be based essentially on the British pattern I also had two other matters in mind. The first is that the Dean and I, together with the other members of m y Committee are anxious that the new medical qualification of The Chinese University will, like that of its sister Univers medical school, achieve recognition by the General Medical Council for the purpose of full regis-