Objective: To study the local medical profession's opinions on the training requirements for the specialty of family medicine. This was to serve as a reference for future planning of the health care system.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Participants and setting: All registered doctors in Hong Kong.
Main outcome measures: Doctors' ratings on the importance of vocational training, professional assessment, job nature, and experience to become suitably qualified as a family doctor, and their opinions on the length of necessary vocational training.
Results: A total of 2310 doctors (23% of doctors in the local register) responded. Professional assessment was mostly agreed as a qualification, followed by vocational training, clinical experience, and job nature. Over 70% agreed on a training period of 4 years or less. Non-family doctors were more likely to opt for professional assessment as the qualification and also opt for a longer training period.
Conclusion: Vocational training was considered important as a qualification for the specialty of family medicine. The length of training was mostly agreed to be 4 years or less, not the 6 years currently required by the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. The vocational training programme for family medicine might require re-examination.