LMCHK
LMCHK (Licentiate of the Medical Council of Hong Kong) is a medical license qualification awarded to doctors that passed the rigorous licensing requirements set by the Medical Council of Hong Kong. Only doctors who graduated from medical schools outside of Hong Kong need to earn the LMCHK.
LMCHK is a requirement for these doctors to become fully registered to practice medicine in Hong Kong. Key components of attaining LMCHK include passing the Hong Kong Medical Licensing Examination (HKMLE) and undergoing a Period of Assessment.
What's in a name?
The names referring to our community of LMCHK physicians have included various forms over time, such as overseas doctors, overseas-trained doctors, non-locally trained doctors, foreign doctors, and international medical graduates.
In Hong Kong, non-local medical graduates is the most accurate and inclusive descriptor of the doctors that make up our LMCHK community.
HKMLE (Review Events)
Part of the LMCHK Society's mission is to support candidates for the Hong Kong Medical Licensing Examination (HKMLE).
The LMCHK Society organizes review events for its exam candidates. For more specifics, about our HKMLE events and support, see our HKMLE page: click here.
In a later section, we discuss general information HKMLE. We hope it's useful for you!
Did you know?
In the Dec 2019 HKMLE clinical exam, 27 of the 32 candidates that passed were with the Licentiate Society! Similar statistics have occurred with each new sitting of the HKMLE. We're proud of you. Congrats!
See our dedicated Hong Kong Medical Licensing Exam (HKMLE) page to learn more about our efforts to support exam candidates.
HKMLE (General Info)
The HKMLE is sometimes described as a licensing exam for foreigners and overseas doctors, but in reality all non-local medical graduates must pass the HKMLE to gain full registration to practice medicine in Hong Kong. The HKMLE is the 3-part licensing examination offered twice per year by the MCHK:
- Part 1 is a written assessment consisting of 240 multiple-choice questions delivered over 2 days. About 92% of the examination is devoted to the major clinical specialities, with the remaining 8% covering pre-clinical subjects. Part 1 is held in September and March of every year.
- Part 2 is a written English test used to assess candidates command of the language for usage in a professional context. The examination lasts 3 hours and is held at the same time as Part 1, usually one day prior to Part 1.
- Part 3 is held over a 2-3 week period in late November/early December and late May/early June of each year. It's a clinical assessment focusing on the following 4 specialties: Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Pediatrics.
After passing the HKMLE, successful candidates are eligible to undergo the period of assessment.
Period of Assessment
The Period of Assessment is the final step of the pathway to attaining the LMCHK qualification, which is required for doctors that graduated from medical schools outside of Hong Kong. Most of these doctors undergo a 12-month internship after passing the HKMLE. The typical Period of Assessment consists of four 3-month Internship rotations in major medical specialties. The internship is served along the same rotations as the Hong Kong local graduate doctors.
Those that are already specialists may be eligible to receive a 6-month exemption from the length of the Period of Assessment. In addition, as of May 2019, doctors that have passed the HKMLE and worked for 3 years in Hong Kong under Limited Registration from the MCHK are eligible to apply for a complete exemption with the time served counting as the Period of Assessment.
More information
The official site for information about the LMCHK pathway, including the HKMLE and Period of Assessment may be found at: https://leip.mchk.org.hk/EN/index.html