Reports of the Subcommittees

Education Subcommittee
Sheila TWINN (Coordinator)
Angela CHAN, Sharron LEUNG, CHAIR Sek Ying, Dominic CHAN, Jennifer CHAN, Tavia CHENG, Karis KWONG, Anita PANG, Edward TSUI, Emmy WONG, Irene WONG

The Education Subcommittee has had a busy year organizing a range of continuing educational activities that have attracted a large number of members. A total of eight activities have been carried out during the year and have ranged in length from a two hour seminar about outreach nursing services in private elderly homes to a 30 week Chinese language revision course for the Universal Licensing Examination (ULE). In response to requests from overseas nurses an additional English language revision course for the ULE was held this year. Other activities included courses on palliative care, basic statistics, counselling as well as music therapy. The response to these activities has generally been very positive both in terms of recruitment and evaluation. Plans are currently underway to launch four new programmes in the coming few months.

Another activity of the Subcommittee involved a presentation at the annual scientific meeting of the Federation of Medical Societies of Hong Kong. The subcommittee would like to thank Dr. Eleanor Holroyd for presenting her research on behalf of the Society at the meeting on the topic of family caring and elderly people.

The chairperson of the Education Subcommittee would like to acknowledge the commitment and hard work of all the members of the Subcommittee and other colleagues who have made the educational programme such a success this year.

Publication Subcommittee
Anne Marie WONG (Coordinator)
Trudy HO, Violeta LOPEZ

Following the successful publication of the book "The Transition of Nursing Education in Hong Kong" last year, the Publication Subcommittee had widely distributed copies of this historical book to all members, as well as to professional organizations, health care institutes, universities and public libraries, to serve as a valuable reference for those who are interested in studying the development of nursing education in Hong Kong. Moreover, complimentary copies were sent to the honorary advisors, authors and reviewers of articles, as well as to those who had contributed to the publication of the book in acknowledgement of their dedication and unfailing support to the Society. Feedback from readers has been both rewarding and encouraging.

To communicate with its members, the Subcommittee published its Newsletter in June and December 2002. The June issue announced the appointment of the new Executive Committee (EC) members and the work plan of the new EC. It also published the Society's express position on 'The direction for the development of nursing education in Hong Kong'. Moreover, in reporting on the 16th Annual General Meeting, a thought-provoking paper presented by the Senior Executive Manager of the Hospital Authority, Dr. Susie Lum, on exploring the establishment of the Hong Kong Academy of Nursing. In addition, there was an article submitted by a Senior Nursing Officer from the Department of Health with an aim to share views on continuing professional education in relation to public health nursing practice. It is evident that the Newsletter serves effectively as a platform for nurse educators and professionals from different health care sectors to exchange information and experiences.

The December issue posed an updated position statement of the Society on nursing education and explicated the Society's views on basic nursing education, continuing nursing education and the development of advanced nursing practice. There were feature articles from both nurse educators and students sharing their memorable participation in the Society's professional visit to health care and education institutes in Macao. Moreover, a unique and touching poem written by an anonymous old lady was published. It served to arouse the nurses' awareness of the importance of empathy in caring for elderly clients, and reminded nurses of the art of caring.

Currently, the Subcommittee is planning a book on evidence-based nursing education to be published in March 2004. It aims to promote the quality of nursing education by sharing views, experiences, and findings of related studies. The Subcommittee will work hard to get this book published.

Membership Promotion Subcommittee
YU Lei King (Coordinator)
LI Woon Mi, Monita

It has been a successful year in the work of the membership promotion. The number of members of the Society has increased by 20%. The majority of our members are nurse educators teaching in universities and school of nursing. We also have more members who are clinical practitioners, nurse specialists and nurse managers from the Hospital Authority, the Department of Health, as well as the private sector. We also have increasing number of affiliated members who are nursing students from the universities.

Every nurse has an important role to play in nursing education, i.e. his/her own professional development, and the development of younger nurses. We therefore hope to expand our network to all nurses locally, nationally and internationally. The support from members of the nursing profession is essential for the Society to uphold its objectives.

Welfare and Recreational Subcommittee
Peggie WONG (Coordinator)
William LI, Lisa LOW

The Welfare and Recreational Subcommittee has organised three activities for members with the purposes of promoting friendship, widening the perspective on nursing development, and sharing cultural differences of nursing practices. In August, many members joined the day trip to Macao. The group visited the Government Hospital and the School of Health Sciences of the Macao Polytechnic Institute. In November, many members and their families participated in the Chinese Herbal Walk in the Sheung Shui countryside. In both occasions, we were blessed with fabulous weather, warm reception as well as valuable experiences. The 17th Annual General Meeting and Dinner on 28 March 2003 brought the dawn of another productive year for the Committee to serve its members through enjoyable excursions. We look forward to seeing more members to share their companionship and fun together.