Chairman's Message

Professor Sally CHAN

The New Executive Committee (EC) 2002-2004

The Hong Kong Society for Nursing Education is celebrating its 16th year birthday. An election of the Society's new Executive Committee (EC) members was held early this year. This election turned out to be a very encouraging one. There were many nominations and the return rate of members' votes was very good. We would like to express our sincere appreciation for members' active participation in the election which is a sign of the members' expectation on the Society's coming work. We would also like to extend our heart-felt gratitude to those out-going EC members for their commitment and great contribution in the past two years.

The new EC members were formally appointed in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in March this year. The Chairman, Vice-Chairman and all the office bearers were determined by an internal election among the EC members. Subcommittees of the EC were also formed. A list of all EC members and their positions is included in this issue of the Newsletter.

I feel so honored and privileged to be elected as the Chairman of the Society, and have the opportunity to serve the members for the coming two years. I look forward to working closely with Ms. Shirley WONG, the Vice-Chairman, and all the EC members. We shall commit ourselves to achieving the objects of the Society.

We are glad to see that the membership of the Society continues to grow. Members include nurse educators, clinical practitioners, nurse managers and nursing students from hospitals, universities, schools of nursing and the Department of Health. The compositions of the Society membership and the EC membership reflect very much the recent changes in the Hong Kong nursing community. Concerns about promoting nursing education become a common goal of many nurses from various sectors, and not just limited to those with direct involvement in formal nursing education programmes.

The Honorary Advisors

In the new term of the EC, the Society is so honored by having the support from the new Advisors. Their generous help is essential for the Society's work. The Society is indebted to the out-going Advisors for their contribution to the growth of the Society.

Work Plan of the New EC

Nursing education in Hong Kong has been undergoing drastic changes in this century. These changes have brought both risks and opportunities to the nursing education system. The Society will continue to adopt the position statement "The direction for development of nursing education in Hong Kong" set in the year 2001 as the direction of the Society's work:

The Society recognizes that, in order to provide Hong Kong people with nursing services of good quality, there must be a good education system to prepare and develop nurses. The Society believes that all pre-registration nursing education programmes should be transferred from hospital-based diploma to university undergraduate degree programme. A four-year programme leading to the award of 'Bachelor of Nursing' is required to prepare competent registered nurses. We trust that, with the form of education comparable to that of all other health care professionals, nurses could contribute much better to the promotion of health of Hong Kong people. Though this quest has been widely supported by those within and outside the nursing profession and the majority of the hospital-based nursing education programme has come to an end, the battle of promoting tertiary based nursing education has to be continued. The present number of first-year first degree places for nursing programme (about 300 per year) is inadequate to meet the future demand for nursing manpower.

The Hong Kong SAR Government and the University Grants Committee have both supported degree level nursing education. However, a plan of increasing these degree places in universities is not yet available. Much effort is still required to convince the Government that a long-term policy for nursing education is needed. Such policy should not only set the direction for basic nursing education, but it should also provide a guide for nurses' professional development, and particularly the preparation of advanced nurse practitioners.

To promote the development of advanced nursing practice, the Society regards the establishment of a statutory body as very important in the regulation of advanced nursing practice in Hong Kong. A Working Group for the establishment of the Hong Kong Academy of Nursing has recently been formed with Dr. Susie LUM as the Convenor. The Society will participate actively in the work of this Group.

The Society supports that continuing nursing education (CNE) is important for qualified nurses to update themselves for improving the quality of health care services. The Society will continue to provide high quality CNE programmes for its members and the nursing communities. The plan for the coming CNE programmes organised by the Society is reported by the Education Subcommittee in this newsletter.

Apart from professional development, the Society would also like to fulfill the recreational needs of the members. The Social and Recreation Subcommittee has made plans for this year. You are cordially welcome to join the activities with your colleagues and friends.

The Membership Promotion Subcommittee is now working hard in promoting the Society to nursing members. We are sure that the Society has something to offer you, be it educational, professional or social. You can find a copy of the subscription form in this newsletter. The Society is looking forward to your support in our future endeavour. Please join the Society and tell us your views on how to promote nursing development in Hong Kong.