The beginning of medical education in Hong Kong 125 years ago...its unique features in comparison with similar efforts in China.

Medical education in Hong Kong began with the inauguration of the College of Medicine for Chinese in 1887. Although training in western medicine for Chinese had been started half a century earlier in the mainland of China, with a few exceptions, much of it was in the form of apprenticeships without a formal course of study, such that by the end of the 19th century medical education in China was still on the whole poorly developed. This paper presents some examples of significant efforts in western medical education on the Chinese mainland during the 19th century. It compares the Hong Kong College with these efforts, and examines those features which, together, made the College unique. These included its independent status as an educational institution, its use of English as a medium of instruction together with the attendant advantages that brings, the availability of students with the requisite language skills to undertake such studies, the availability of teachers, support of the public, and access to autopsies and dissection. Moreover, opportunities for employment in the public sector and in private practice gradually became available for its graduates, thus accelerating the acceptance of western medicine by the Chinese population and the development of these services in Hong Kong. The College, at its inception, could rightfully claim a leading position in these various aspects. Its story should be a source of inspiration and pride, and of encouragement for the local medical profession to continue this 125-year-old tradition of service and leadership.