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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority today (April 22) announced a tailor-made bridging programme for existing students of the Associate Degree in Nursing of the Hong Kong Institute of Technology (HKIT) which has already been endorsed by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong. The programme will facilitate the students to pursue an alternative training in obtaining the professional qualification in nursing.
Speaking to the media after a briefing session for the nursing students this morning, Hospital Authority Director (Cluster Services), Dr Cheung Wai-lun, said, "The authority understands and shares the worries of the students and is also very concerned about the social implications of the incident. On request of the Secretary for Food and Health, we have considered and designed the bridging programme specifically for the students. The authority has been exploring possible options to assist the students so that they can apply what they have learned and attain the required nursing qualification to serve the community."
Dr Cheung stressed that there were certain principles in designing the bridging programme. The prime consideration is that the education standard and quality of current Hospital Authority training programmes should not be compromised. The authority will consider the students' eligibility for the programme on an individual basis according to their academic qualification and results. The bridging programme is organised and implemented to make up the apparent discrepancies of the HKIT programme to that of the Hospital Authority nursing training programmes so that students will be eligible for professional nursing qualification.
"Existing nursing students of HKIT who are interested can apply to the bridging programme if they meet the academic qualifications required for the Higher Diploma or Enrolled Nurse programme of authority nursing schools. Students who do not meet the entry requirement of Hospital Authority basic nursing programmes need to make up the entry requirement deficiency in 12 months' time."
The authority met the Nursing Council of Hong Kong earlier and discussed the possible assistance for the students as well as the details and assessment criteria of the bridging programme. The authority will arrange the first, second and third-year students who would meet the entry requirement and pass the admission assessment to convert to the corresponding year of the Higher Diploma or Enrolled Nurse Bridging Programme (Please refer to appendix).
A briefing session was arranged by the authority this morning for the students of HKIT Associate Degree in Nursing to explain the programme details and entry requirements. The bridging programme is open to application from mid to the end of May. The classes of the bridging programme are scheduled to begin in October.
Ends/Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Issued at HKT 18:09
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