Nursing in Hong Kong
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nursing is a licensed professional occupation in Hong Kong. The profession is regulated by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong, a statutory body. Nurses in Hong Kong are divided into registered nurses and enrolled nurses, with the former requiring more extensive professional training.
There are a total of 59,082 nurses in Hong Kong as of 2019, with the majority of registered nurses working for the Hospital Authority. Nursing education is provided by universities, post-secondary colleges, and hospital-based nursing schools.
Nursing practice in Hong Kong is regulated by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港護士管理局), a statutory body established via the Nurses Registration Ordinance.[1][2] The registration of nurses has been regulated since 1931.[3]
Membership of the council consists of its director, a registered nurse in public service nominated by the Director of Health and appointed by the chief executive of Hong Kong, six registered nurses appointed by the chief executive, six registered or enrolled nurses elected for a term, two persons selected by the CE from people nominated by tertiary institutions providing nursing programmes, one member nominated by the Hospital Authority and appointed by the CE, one mental health nurse appointed by the CE, and three lay members appointed by the CE.[4]
Nurses in Hong Kong are classified into registered nurses (RN; Chinese: 註冊護士) and enrolled nurses (EN; Chinese: 登記護士).[5] RNs may handle patients independently, whereas ENs must work under the supervision of RNs. RNs have a higher academic and professional attainment and must train for a longer period of time; correspondingly, they also have higher salaries and may be promoted to higher positions such as Nursing Officer (Chinese: 護士長). In contrast, ENs do not have a clear path for promotion; in order for ENs to be promoted to higher positions, they must take further studies such as conversion or top-up courses. Psychiatric nurses have a higher starting salary than nurses serving general patients.[6]
Education
All nursing programmes in Hong Kong have to be approved by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong. Registered nurses must undergo at least 3 years of training, either via theoretical and practical training at a nursing school based in hospitals, or via a pre-registration nursing programme at a university or college; whereas, enrolled nurses must take a programme of at least 2 years in duration.[5] Among programmes that lead to qualification as RNs, the Higher Diploma in Nursing programme offered by the Hospital Authority is 3 years in duration,[7] while bachelor's degrees offered by universities and post-secondary colleges are 5 years in duration.[6]
The following is a list of institutions offering nursing programmes as of 2020:[6][8]
Universities
- University of Hong Kong
- Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Hong Kong Metropolitan University
Approved post-secondary colleges
- Tung Wah College
- Caritas Institute of Higher Education
- School of Continuing Education, Hong Kong Baptist University
- Hong Kong Nang Yan College of Higher Education
- Hong Kong Adventist College
