Fewer Hong Kong doctors want to specialise in obstetrics-gynecology, according to a local survey A local survey in Hong Kong revealed that young doctors are opting not to specialise in obstetrics and gynaelogy, citing fewer opportunities and heavy workload as factors that discourage them from pursuing this medical specialty. Around 300 medical graduates were surveyed in the study published in the Hong Kong Medical Journal. The finding revealed that the shortage of OB-GYN specialists in Hong Kong was also one reason why graduates avoid the profession. With a shortage in staff, the workload of remaining specialists becomes too heavy that they have to make around 6 to 7 on-call shifts per month on top of their regular duties. “With so many uncertainties and higher risk, why would one do such an unpleasant job?” According to Dr Terence Lao Tsu-his, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology in Chinese University. Dr Lao added that pressure in this particular specialization is higher as “you can never know how many people are delivering and showing signs of giving birth.” In 2015, only half of OB medical training posts (24) were filled by graduates, leaving 11 vacant posts South China Morning Post reported. The local study revealed that from being the 3rd most liked subject, OB specialty went down to 8th place. The shortage was made worse in part by of the imposition of the “zero quota” in 2013. In the policy, expectant mothers from mainland China were disallowed from giving birth in Hong Kong unless the mother has a local husband. This resulted to institutions losing maternal beds and a corresponding drop in the number of births: from 9,000 to 6,000 last year, which in turn affected the specialty choice of medical graduates. The obstetrics and gynaecology departments of public hospitals suffered a particularly harsh blow as 17 percent of obstetricians reportedly left. According SCMP, public hospitals in Hong Kong have been lacking around 250 doctors in all departments. A plan to ease the shortage of doctors includes relaxing the examination requirements for doctors trained overseas. The passing rates for the exam were low – around 20 percent. According to legislator Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, the exam’s high threshold is an “obstacle” for foreign-trained doctors wanting to practice locally, but a member of the Medical Council, Gabriel Choi Kin, suggested that merely increasing the number of foreign-trained doctors might not really solve the underlying issues. Source
