Bulletin Number Five 1986

Faculty of Medicine —My Personal Glimpses —Joseph C.K. Lee Dean, Faculty of Medicine * The first question many of my visiting former colleagues and friends asked when they met me these days was, ‘What made you join the Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong?' 'Yes, of course the beautiful campus, warm wheather, good tennis courts, . . .' 'Is that all?' 'Teaching, campus activities, art gallery . . .' Upon further reflection, though important ， one would agree that these are in fact rather superficial reasons. Those who came to be part of a starting new institution with its uncertainties and challenges were looking for more than the above. Medicine and education are two professions, the humane side of which knows no racial, religious or geographical boundaries. Medicine is the art of healing —i n the broadest sense including all branches of medical practice and research; medical education is the teaching of the art — 'to teach them the Art, if they shall wish to learn it . . . and that by precept, lecture and every other mode of instruction' (Hippocrates). Perhaps, it is the combination of the practice of this art and the wish to teach that has brought us together to the Faculty of Medicine here. This is the glue that binds. William Osier put it so well, ' . . . upon us of the medical faculties lies a bounden duty in this respect, since our Art, coordinate with human suffering, is cosmopolitan.' * Undergraduate medical training is a long and tedious process. Medicine is a profession, not a trade. Professor G.H. Choa said, 'The goal of the school is to give the students a medical education, not just to train medical practitioners.' In learning a trade one can gain sufficient expertise by apprenticeship alone or nowadays even by post as is practised in correspondence schools. In medical education the assimilation of knowledge, acquisition of skills, development of values and attitudes that 'promote caring and concern for the individual and for society' are lifelong endeavours. * I used to make pots. Starting with throwing the clay to ending with a finely glazed product, one takes them through multiple steps, many of which could easily go wrong: quality of the clay, uneven spinning of the wheel, variation of temperature at bisking, unavoidable crowding and handling, chemicals reacting with the underlying clay and with one another to give an unexpected hue. All these steps are not unlike those in the training of a medical doctor — long and difficult. Students, the starting material, and teachers, responsible for the shaping and processing, are of paramount importance. Our first batch of fifty-one graduates may have been perfectly moulded, correctly bisked, and even glazed with the right ingredients, but the important final firing is just beginning to take place. What will be the outcome? We anxiously await the results. * With rapid advances in the sciences and increasing complexity of medical knowledge, undergraduate medical education is no longer adequate to equip a doctor for comprehensive medical practice. Specialization is becoming the rule. An additional period of postgraduate professional training beyond the internship is often required. In an address in 1978 ， Dr. C.M. Li, the founding Vice-Chancellor, stated, 'When the Faculty is fully developed and after the graduation of the first batch of students, postgraduate training programmes in the various departments will be organized.' The Faculty is indeed embarking on postgraduate training for both academic degrees of MPhil, MSc, PhD, MD, and professional qualifications of the various Royal Colleges and Faculties. A major step in this direction has been taken with the appointment of a Postgraduate Tutor, who will be the focal point of coordination of postgraduate professional education. Already, interns are being rotated with an emphasis on continuation of undergraduate education. It is envisaged that a structured programme of postgraduate professional training will soon emerge. * A new medical school, like a new kid in the block, or a young bride in the village, is constantly under the watchful eye of friends and detractors alike. The slightest hint of faltering will be taken note of. Conversely, the new person will put forth his best performance, perhaps paranoidly so. Suspicion and unnecessary tension are easily engendered. We hope these will give way to understanding in time, the healer to us all. * Where do we stand as a medical school? How do we compare with institutions on Gourman's list of medical schools in the world? Harvard, Paris, John 12 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS