Chinese medicine practitioner turnover rate and the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong, China

Abstract

To establish that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government is actively promoting Chinese medicine (CM) and to examine turnover rate of Chinese medicine practitioners (CMPs) in Hong Kong, China in light of this governmental push. This study covered two major areas: reviewing CM development in Hong Kong, and assessing the turnover rate of CMPs in Hong Kong. The first part of the paper is a historical review. The investigation of turnover rate had two sections. Section 1, quantitative method, involved online questionnaires; Section 2, qualitative method comprised interviews with CMPs from different types of CM clinics to ascertain the reasons for the turnover among CMPs. A total of 123 online questionnaires were received in Section 1 (55 from male CMPs; 66 from female CMPs; 2 respondents were unwilling to disclose their sex). The proportion of CMPs who had resigned in 2018–19 was 22.8% (28), of whom 5.7% (7) had resigned twice in one year. The rates of resignation in 3 years and 5 years were up to 40.7% (50) and 56.9% (70), respectively. Six CMPs were interviewed in Section 2. Young CMPs were more likely to resign than seniors. The large gap between actual salary and expectations appeared to be the main reason for the high rate of resignation. HKSAR government keenly desires to promote CM in Hong Kong, however, high turnover rate of CMPs was detected even under this positive governmental support. There is an urgent need to conduct a more representative study of the reasons for the inclination of CMPs in Hong Kong. The study highlights an important issue in CM development, and these results should remind different stakeholders in the CM industry and the government that CMPs need better career prospects and support in various areas.