Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2001

New Clinical Skills Centre A C l i n i c al Sk i l l s L e a r n i n g Ce n t r e wa s officially established under the Faculty of Me d i c i n e o n 7 th M a y 2001 to he lp meet t h e c h a n g e s b r o u g h t a b o ut b y a n e w m e d i c a l c u r r i c u l u m i n t r o d u c e d i n September 2001. Officiating at the centre's opening ceremony were Prof. Arthur K.C. Li, vice-chancellor, Prof. Sydney Chung, dean of the faculty. Prof. David Chung, director of the new centre, and Prof. Allan Chang, honorary hospital chief executive of the Prince of Wales Hospital. The objective o f the n e w c u r r i c u l um, w h i c h empha s i z es c ommu n i c a t i o n , I T , a n d evidence-based clinical skills , i s t o he lp students develop a patient-oriented m i n d. First- and second-year students w i l l have to acquire clinical skills i n the centre before b e i n g i n t r o d u c e d t o the h o s p i t al wards. The we l l - equ i ppe d centre has facilities t hat can s i mu l a te g r a d e d c l i n i c a l tasks. Students can practise o n ma n i k i n s , a n d o b t a i n s i m u l a t ed p a t i e n t r e a c t i o ns t o different types of treatment. Students can also learn to assess patients i n a simulated d o c t o r ' s o f f i ce a n d p r a c t i s e e v i d e n c e - based medicine protocol s i n e x am i na t i on rooms that are l i n k e d to medical librarie s i n other parts of the wo r l d . Resource Centre for Women's Health Wome n comprise app r o x i ma t e l y half the p o p u l a t i on o f H o n g Kong , a n d at least 60 per cent of the geriatric popu l a t i on . U n t i l r e c e n t l y, m o s t s t u d i e s o n w o m e n ' s h e a l t h ha v e been f o c u s e d o n t he ir r e p r o d u c t i ve health. G i v en that a t h i r d o f a w o m a n ' s l i f e i s s p e nt i n p o s t me n o p a u s a l years, mo re a n d mo re attention is n o w being g i v en to th e health e f f e c t s o fh o r m o n a l c h a n g e s, a n d c ond i t i ons such as heart disease, female cancers, osteoporosis, disability , causes of death, and quality of life i n older wome n. A t Th e Chinese Un i v e r s i t y, a Cen t re of Research a n d P r o m o t i on o f Wo m e n 's He a l th ( CRPWH ) was set u p i n Januar y 2001 to coordinate efforts i n thi s direction. O n 2 0 t h Oc t o b er 2001, a Re s ou r c e Centre f o r Wome n 's H e a l t h wa s j o i n t l y established b y the C R PWH and the H o n g K o n g Federation o f Wome n to serve as an i n f o rma t i on centre for academics, medical and allied health workers , administrators, students, and the general publi c on a w i d e range of topics relating to the hea l t h a n d we l l - be i ng o f wome n . The centre was ma de po s s i b l e b y a generous d o n a t i o n f r o m the H o n g K o n g Federation of Women. New Treatment for Macular Diseases Ma c u l a r diseases are a m o ng th e ma j or causes of blindness i n H o n g Ko n g. Two i m p o r t a n t c o n d i t i o n s are a g e - r e l a t e d macular degeneration ( AMD ) and macular d e g e n e r a t i on i n p a t i e n tsw i t h s e r i ou s m y o p i a of over 600 degrees. A M D is the l ead i ng cause of blindness i n the e l de r ly aged over 60 i n Wester n countries. A r e c e n t s t u d y b y t h e U n i v e r s i t y revealed that serious m y o p i a is r i s i ng i n prevalence i n H o n g K o n g w i t h six per cent CHINES E UNIVERSIT Y BULLETI Autumn •Winter 2001 58