The Hospital Authority (HA) yesterday announced that it will offer a one-off bridging program to Hong Kong Institute of Technology (HKIT) nursing students.

The program is open to first-, second- and third-year nursing students of the institute.

"This is a one-off arrangement especially made for HKIT nursing students," said HA Director (Cluster Services) Cheung Wai-lun.

"The bridging program has been endorsed by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong," he added.

Earlier this month, the government pledged to find ways to help nursing students from the institute who failed to attain professional recognition.

HKIT initiated Associate Degree in Nursing in October 2005, but can not attain accreditation of the program from the Nursing Council of Hong Kong in March this year.

There are 140 nursing students at HKIT, including 20 third-year students who are going to graduate in June.

Cheung said HKIT nursing students can apply to the bridging program if they meet the entry requirement for the Registered Nurse or Enrolled Nurse programs of HA nursing schools.

Third-year HKIT nursing students who will be graduating from the Associate Degree in Nursing program will become Registered Nurses after completing a 6-month revision program.

For first- and second-year students, they need to have 5 passes in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and a Hong Kong Advanced Level (HKAL) pass to enter the Registered Nurse program.

Those who meet the entry requirement will have to sit an admission exam. Those who pass the exam would be admitted to the second or third year at HA nursing schools.

Cheung said students who do not meet the entry requirement can have 12 months to fulfill the requirement.

The HA will consider the students' eligibility for the bridging program according to individual student's academic qualification, he said.

The tuition of the bridging program is HK$28,000 a year.

Application for the bridging program opens from mid to the end of May.

Classes of the program are scheduled to begin in October.

HKIT student representatives welcomed the bridging program offer but expressed concerns for the arrangement.

"We hope the HA can allow us to finish the Associate Degree before the beginning of the bridging program," said first-year student Chan Lai-pik.

HKIT president Joy Shi Mei-chun said they will not admit new students before the future of the nursing program becomes clearer.

(HK Edition 04/23/2008 page1)