NEWSLETTER of

HONG KONG COLLEGE OF PATHOLOGISTS

The Hong Kong College of Pathologists, Incorporated in Hong Kong with Limited Liability

April / May 1997 Volume 6:2

Inside This Issue

1. Breast Cancer Symposium

2. Cytology Review Course

3. Medical Negligence

and Its Prevention

4. List of Pathology Experts

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

It's spring time again! Many members will be pre-occupied with preparing for examinations, either as candidates or examiners for our own or other College’s Examinations. While these are dominating matters, arranging college examinations is not the only role of our College. The College has many other activities to deal with in order to fulfil its objectives. These need wide participation with as many members as possible participating and contributing both to the growth of the College and the Pathology profession. If you have any suggestions as to the roles of the College, especially its relationship to the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine and other organisations, do not hesitate to write to the Council or the College Newsletter to express your views.

By 1st July this year, Hong Kong will become a Special Administrative Region of China and we expect more communications between our College and other Medical and Pathology organisations in China. If you have any feelings or suggestions on what should be the position of our College and how best to establish the various relationships, please inform any of the College Office Bearers or Council Members or write to the Newsletter.

This edition of the Newsletter contains several notices of imminent symposiums or lecture series and we hope that you will support attendance at them. Such events, when organised and run by the College, generate much needed funds and so assist us in achieving our goals and duties as efficiently and economically as possible.

We are still a very young college and it is of utmost importance that we establish and maintain our credentials internationally. A most important means of achieving this is by the use of External Examiners and this, of course, results in considerable cost when airfares, accommodation, etc. are involved, particularly when there are examinations in several disciplines with each requiring an external examiner. Perhaps with time, we will not require a visit from an external examiner for each examination, but the Council and TEC feels that this is still some way off. The result is that we have a major financial problem, as the number of trainees is relatively small, and thus the revenue generated from examination fees is usually less than that required to pay for the cost of examining. This is the major cause of an increase in examination fees proposed by the TEC and agreed to by the Council. The new fees are $6,600 for the membership examination and $8,800 for the fellowship assessment.

The Council and the Training and Examinations Committee would like to use this opportunity to assure members that almost all other aspects of the examination costs are borne by the generosity of the institutions at which the examinations are held. It is also especially appropriate to publicly thank the Hospital Authority, who on a number of occasions have borne the cost of bringing some of our external examiners to Hong Kong.

FROM THE REGISTRAR

Please note the enclosed sheet from the Registrar explaining the need for a LIST of PATHOLOGY EXPERTS and respond as soon as possible to the fax number as shown on the sheet.

TRAINING & EXAMINATIONS

COMMITTEE

The revised “Training and Examinations Regulations” were passed without amendment, both by the Academy of Medicine Education Committee and Council, thus reflecting the thoroughness of our preparation. The regulations will now be printed for distribution within the next few months.

The TEC proposed, and the Council endorsed at its most recent meeting, that in order to best help the majority of our trainees, the latest date to submit confirmatory documentation that a candidate has fulfilled all the requirements for fellowship of a sister college and so is eligible to apply for exemption from our Membership examination, should be July 1st of the year in which the candidate wished to present for the Fellowship assessment. Thus candidates should submit an application form for exam-ination by the end of March of the year of the exam-ination. They then have until the 1st July to complete any additional training period required to fulfil the requirements, for example, of the FRCPA.

Note: Due to an oversight, the appointment of Dr ST Yuen as Deputy Secretary of the TEC, with effect from 8/7/96, was not previously announced.

EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Update on the CME Scheme:

After consulting fellows for their opinion, the Education has made some suggestions to the Council for consider-ation. Any modifications will then need to be presented to the Education Committee of the Academy for approval before being published.

A Breast Cancer Symposium to be held later this month is to be jointly sponsored by the College and the Hong Kong Division of the International Academy of Pathology - see notice later in this issue.

Cytology Review Course 1997. The College has once again organised a Cytology Review Course. It is primarily designed for technologists wishing to sit for the CT(IAC) examination of the International Academy of Cytology, which will be held in Hong Kong on June 7th 1997. The course details and the lecturers involved are shown elsewhere in this Newsletter. The College thanks all those involved and the gratefully acknowledges the generous use of facilities provided by the Pathology Departments at HKU / QMH and CU / PWH.

Note: Similarly, the appointment of Dr WM Lai as Assistant Secretary of the Education Committee ( with effect from 23/5/96 ) was not previously announced.

Meetings and Societies

Perhaps as a reflection on the times, there is a full page advertisement later in the Newsletter of a series of lectures dedicated to medical negligence and its prevention. Members may find attendance provides some valuable preventative measures in these times of increasing litigation, as well as accumulating CME points.

Membership of College

The total membership of our College is now 229 with 14 Honorary Fellows, 83 Founder Fellows, 68 Fellows, 12 Overseas Fellows, 13 Members and 39 Associates

The International Academy of Pathology

(Hong Kong Division)

and

The Hong Kong College of Pathologists

co-sponsor

Breast Cancer Symposium 1997

1. Dr Robert Osamura : Prognostic factors for T₁N₀ breast cancer in Japan

2. Prof David Page : Ductal carcinoma in situ & related lesions

3. Dr Eric Shi : Shark cartilage - possible role in cancer therapy

4. Dr Kennedy Gilchrist : The Vietnam breast cancer project:

Perspective & Interim Results

Time: Friday, 25th April 1997, 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Venue: G/F Lecture Theatre,

M Block,

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Fee: Free !

Note: Please inform Dr LOO KA TAI (Fax No : 2385-2455) of your car

registration number to facilitate parking at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

CYTOLOGY REVIEW COURSE - 1997

·Gynaecological Cytology ( Prince of Wales Hospital)

April 26^th 1997 Lectures: ( Venue: Rm 38069)

2.00-3.00pm 1. Inflammatory Reactions and Infections

of the Female Genital Tract - Dr May Chan

3.00-3.15pm AfternoonTea

3.15-4.15pm 2. Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions

and Squamous Carcinoma - Dr Alex Chang

4.15-5.15pm 3. Hormonal Cytology

Glandular Lesions - Dr May Cheng

·Gynaecology Microscopy Session ( Prince of Wales Hospital)

May 3rd 1997 Slides: ( Venue: Students Lab, 1/F PWH)

2.00-6.00pm Slides related to female genital tract.

·Non-Gynaecological Cytology / FNA ( Queen Mary Hospital)

May 17^th 1997 Lectures: (Venue: Room 004, UPB or Lect Theatre, 1/F UPB)

2.00-2.30pm 1. Urinary Tract Cytology - Dr May Chan

2.30-3.30pm 2. Respiratory Tract Cytology - Dr Maria Wong

3.30-4.00pm Afternoon Tea

4.00-5.00pm 3. Other Body Fluid Cytology - Dr RJ Collins

5.00-6.00pm 4. FNA Cytology - Dr RJ Collins

·Non-Gynaecology Microscopy Session ( Queen Mary Hospital )

May 24^th 1997 Slides ( Students Lab, 3/F UPB)

2.00-6.00pm Slides related to the lectures

· Mock Exam ( Queen Mary Hospital )

May 31^st 1997

2.00-3.00pm 1. MCQ and 3.00-4.00pm 2. 35mm Slides (Venue: Room 004, UPB) - Dr RJ Collins et al.

·CT(IAC) Examination

June 7^th Details to be sent to candidates later.

Venue: Dept of Pathology, HKU, QMH. Convenor - Dr Maria Wong.

Series Convenors: Dr RJ Collins (Ph: 2855 4009), Dr MP Wong ( Ph: 2855 4861)

THE NEW MEDICO-LEGAL SOCIETY OF HONG KONG

Medical Negligence

And Its Prevention

A Course for Doctors and Lawyers Organised by The British Medical Association

(Hong Kong Branch) With The New Medico-Legal Society and the Law Society

Thursday April 17^th 1997

· Mr. Rick Glofcheski Medical versus general negligence

· Dr. Barry Connell Psychological perspectives on preventing litigation

· Mr. Patrick Burke The mechanism of litigation – from the plaintiff’s viewpoint

· Dr. Sam Nariman Illustrative cases

Thursday April 24^th 1997

· Dr. York Chow High risk areas of Medical Practice

· Mr. Russell Coleman Admission of negligence but not causation

· Dr.KK Lai Do’s and don’ts in the Accident and Emergency Department

· Mr. Nicholas Pirie Illustrative cases

Thursday May 1^st 1991

· Mr Nicholas Miller Pre-emptive remedies for avoiding litigation

· Prof Rosie Young Do’s and Don’ts of proper record keeping

· Prof David Anderson llustrative case: “Your mother’s brain has been damaged by us.”

· Dr. Robert Law Illustrative cases in obstetrics

Thursday May 8^th 1997

· Mr. David Maudsley Learning from the Near-miss: general lessons from the

aircraft industry (Flight Safety Manager, Cathay Pacific)

· Professor Cyrus Kumana Negligent drug prescribing: some illustrative cases

· Ms. Caroline Bennett How to handle inquests

· General Discussion

· S nostrud exerci

· ullamcorper suscipit

Venue: Federation of Medical Societies, 4^th Floor, Duke of Windsor Social Services Building,

15 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong.

Time: 7 pm-10pm ( Finger buffet supper at 8.30 pm )

Course approved for CME by Hong Kong College of Community Medicine, General Practitioners,

Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Pathologists, Psychiatrists and Surgeons ( other awaited ).

Contact: Tel: 2527 8898 Fax: 2865 0345

Letters to the Editor:

( Awaiting copy! )

————————————————————

NEWSLETTER MATERIAL?

Please send your contributions to:

“ Dr RJ Collins, Newsletter Editor, Hong Kong College of Pathologists, C/o Department of Pathology, University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong”

Tel: 2855 4009 Fax: 2872 8098

Email: rcollins@hkucc.hku.hk

——————————————————-

Newsletter Production and Editorial Panel:

Dr RJ Collins

Dr Phillip Beh

Dr Dominic Tsang, et al.

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HONG KONG COLLEGE OF PATHOLOGISTS - OFFICE BEARERS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS - Addresses and Contact Numbers

OFFICE BEARERS:

President:

Dr MAK Wai Ping

Institute of Pathology,

Sai Ying Pun Jockey Club Clinic,

Sai Ying Pun, HK.

Phone: 2540 9880; Fax: 2858 2684.

Vice-Presidents:

Dr CHAN Keeng Wai,

Histopathology Unit,

Canossa Hospital, 1 Old Peak Road, HK.

Phone: 2526 0867; Fax: 2521 7081.

Dr Robert John COLLINS,

Department of Pathology,

Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, HK.

Phone: 2855 4009; Fax: 2855 9641

Registrar:

Dr TSE Chun Hing, Christopher

Department of Pathology,10/F Block M,

Queen Elizabeth Hospital,

30 Gascoigne Road, Kowloon.

Phone: 2958 6094; Fax: 2385 2455.

Deputy Registrar:

Dr NG Wing Fung

Department of Pathology,

Ruttonjee Hospital,

266 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai

Phone: 2836 1214; Fax: 2836 1222

Honorary Treasurer:

Dr Poon Wai Ming

Rm 1150, 6 On Po Lane, New Territories

Phone: 2666 4226; Fax: 2667 3565

Immediate Past-President:

Professor Faith HO Chi Suk

C/o Department of Pathology,

University of Hong Kong,

Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, HK.

COUNCIL MEMBERS:

Dr AU Ka Leung,

Department of Pathology, Princess

Margaret Hospital, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon.

Phone: 2990 1818; Fax: 2370 0969.

Dr CHU Wan, Raymond,

Pathology Department,

Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital,

3 Lok Man Road, Chai Wan, HK.

Phone: 2595 5071; Fax: 2515 9701.

Dr Wilina LIM Wei Ling,

Virus Unit,

Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, HK.

Phone: 2855 4112; Fax: 2819 0704.

Dr LIN Che Kit,

Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion

Services, 15 King's Park Rise, Kowloon.

Phone: 2710 1336; Fax: 2780 1862.

Dr LOKE Shee Loong

Histopathology Laboratory, St Theresa’s Hospital

Prince Edward Road Kowloon.

Phone: 2711 2120; Fax: 2761 1798

Dr MONG Hoi Keung

Forensic Pathology Laboratory,

Hennessey Road PO Box 20449

Phone: 2860 2468; Fax: 2804 1714

Dr NG Ho Keung

Department of Anatomical & Cellular Pathology,

Prince of Wales Hospital,

Shatin, New Territories, HK.

Phone: 2632 2334; Fax: 2637 6274

Dr Dominic TSANG Ngai Chong,

Department of Pathology, 11/F Block M,

Queen Elizabeth Hospital,

30 Gascoigne Road, Kowloon.

Phone: 2958 6849; Fax: 2385 2455.