Hong Kong Advanced Practice Nursing

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I am an American nurse, and I am considering a move to Hong Kong in January 2011. At that time I will have a MSN degree in nursing and would be seeking a position as a Nurse Practitioner/Advanced Practice Nurse. I have reviewed information on the internet about nursing in Hong Kong, but have only found info on RN licensing and jobs. Does anybody know if there will be ANY opportunities for a nurse with an advanced degree?? Can anybody point me in the right direction? Even the HK Nursing Council does not have info online about advanced practice nursing. I would also be interested in teaching.

I am grateful for any info anyone can provide.

I am a Canadian RN and I have just moved to Hong Kong. I am finding it very difficult to get a R.N. License in Hong Kong. Before finding a job, we need to be licensed by the nursing Council of Hong Kong. From what I heard, the exam is quite difficult and they don't provide or have any courses for you to prepare for it. Their way of practice are somewhat different from what we learn in North America. Right now, I am not even elgible to sit for the exam because the council wants me to have 202 class contact hours. There are no courses for me to take and I am still trying to fullfill this requirement.

Advanced Practice Nursing is just beginning in Hong Kong so there aren't much information or jobs for Advanced Practice Nurses. if you are in obstetrics, you can try Matilda International Hospital and see what they offer.

For now, it ischallenging process to even get a license in Hong Kong as a over-seas trained nurse. I am planning to make it visible for the nursing regulatory bodies that something needs to be changed. They should have programs to facilitate over-seas trained nurses to get a job in Hong Kong because there are more and more ppl (originally from Hong Kong) coming back to Hong Kong from other countries and having trouble getting their license, especially with this nursing shortage.

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hey, what a coincidence!! I just so happen to browse for job, and I saw ur post. Well, I also am a Canadian trained RN...and now am working in Matilda hospital! To keep it short, I highly recommend u to apply to work in Matilda Hospital. Not dat it's an excellent hospital, but OBS wise, it's very popular. The good thing is, it takes nurses who're overseas trained. Maybe dat's the entry point for u to get ur foot in HK industry!! To pass the HK Nursing board exam has been a drag for many!! But my colleague made it thru. She passed the written exam at her first sitting, just dat clinical exam, she had to have her second attempt before she's licensed the certificate to practise Nursing. Oh, one more thing, unless u speak and read fluent Cantonese, it's very difficult for u to find nursing job in HK (definitely not in public system). Hope it helps!

Thanks for your msg! It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one.. Have you taken the licensing exam yet? I've looked in their website... it does seem like it's the best option.. I don't have ObS background at all though... Do they only hire overseas nurses with obs background?

hey Yan, to answer ur question, I wasn't required to write any licence exam and was able to transfer my Canadian licence to HK's one (it happened only b4 1997, b4 HK was returned to Mainland China). So after all, u still need to write ur exam if u wanna work as a RN in HK. U don't need to have OBS background in order to work in our hospital, cuz we have general ward and OT that hire nurses from overseas as well. If u're interested, lemme know. Maybe I can help make it happen quicker! When will u arrive in HK?? We're constantly hiring, since our hospital's location is a bit remote, and the pay isn't dat great compare to other private sectors, so we have hard time attracting local experienced RN to work in our setting. Keep in mind dat if u're hired by our hospital, ur title will be HCA (Health Care Assistant), and ur pay will be around 10K-12K...very low indeed! Only if ur pass ur licence exam will ur salary adjustment be made. Another option for u is to work in insurance company as medical claims supervisor (dat's how I started before I obtained my RN licence). The pay should be way higher, while u can still work on ur exam! Hope it helps!

hi, wonell..im a registered nurse here in the philippines, been to hong kong many times..i simply love hong kong....and i wanna try my luck to apply in matilda hospital... im soo interested...help!

Hi Wonnell,

Thank you very much for sharing your experience.

I want to go to Hong Kong as soon as there is possible job opening. Would you please

send me an email to [email protected]. I am a RN-BSN in New York. I speak Cantonese & Mandarin. I am 49 years old. Will age be a problem? I heard about age discrimination in Hong Kong, not sure about if that was real.

Thanks again. :)

:hrnsmlys:

Hi Ladies,

Great posts. I am also a Canadian Registered Nurse and I speak fluent in Cantonese and Engish.

I am just so surprised with how "difficult" is seems to get a job in HK as and RN esp with the low pay and long hours!

Specializes in orthopaedic and traumatology.

hi hi ,

i'm a RN in Hong Kong and now working as a clinical tutor in School of General Nursing. I hope I can help to answer the captioned questionssss. ^^

HK health care system is under two system , they are government subsidized and Private sector.

I have worked as an invigilator in the EN licensing examination. most of the failure candidates haven't well prepared their clinical skills rather than their knowledge... they all are good at presentation however we need a "proper" techniques and the quick response to the change of situation.

For the written exam. i think the candidate usually failed in the "English" exam. that's the comments of my colleagues who is the marker for this exam. But please don't mind, this so-call as English exam is not going to test those who are native english speaker by those Cantonese speaking examiner. This "English" paper is going to test how is the candidate 's interpretation skills on the doctor's prescription.

if you cannot speak Cantonese, I think you can only work in private hospital but don't worry the salary is much more higher than in Public sector.

About the APN post, in public sector, which is only open to those working in Public sector. And quite few posting for private sector.

but RN maximum salary is already high enough, cause HK has very low tax rate .. nearly all the salary is owned by you ^^.

Actually I have a question about Canadian Nurse liscense too. My hubby is a Canadian Chinese, I may migrate to Canada too.. and hope can continue my career in Canada. and i will attend a ortho conference in winnipeg on this June. Hope can know more about Canada health care system too ^^

Are here ratios there in Hong Kong as a RN? Are the hospitals there all RNs or do they have CNAs and LVNs? What would a med surg floor look like for staffing?

Specializes in orthopaedic and traumatology.

the working environment of any kind of specialty between of private and public setting that are totally different!!!

the public setting has a so call patient-nurse ratio but it is not compulsory! in my experience, i was grad. for three years and need to responsible 16 acute ortho patients in one shift.

if working in medical unit, one nurse usually need to take care of 20 patients.

but if you cannot speak cantonese, you have no chance to work in public setting .

but u can work in better environment private hospital or some clinic .

and the nursing board exam is look like a NCLEX format.

so where are u come from ?

I was born overseas as family was in the US military. But I grew up in the United States eventually settling in the Bay Area in CA.

So if you can speak Cantonese fluently you can work in a public hospital? What's the difference between the public and private hospitals other than the pay and ratios? I agree for one nurse to take care of 16 patients in a hospital is unsafe. Is it just that nurse for 16 patients or is there an aide or maybe a LVN equivalent?

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