Honoary Fellow Member
The Provisional Hong Kong Academy of Nursing has admitted Ms. Rose Chen as Honorary Fellow. Ms. Chen succeeded Ms. Lydia Cheung as Nursing Director in 1988 and retired soon after the establishment of the Hospital Authority in 1992. Ms. Chen started her nurse training in QMH in 1951, specializing in Theatre Nursing. Upon her return from the UK, she designed training programs for theatre nurses in 1959 which marked the start of early specialist nurse training. She then became a nurse administrator and commissioned the Princess of Wales Hospital (PWH) and became its Chief Nursing Officer in 1983. Shortly after the establishment of PWH, Ms. Chen was promoted to Regional Nursing Officer and later Nursing Director in 1988. Prior to 1988, the Nursing Director had been the ex-officio member of the Hong Kong Nursing Board (i.e. Nursing Council of HK) and HK Midwives Board (i.e. Midwives Council of Hong Kong). In 1988, Dr. Thong the Director of Health formally handed over the chairmanship to nurses, and Ms. Rose Chen became the first elected Chairman of the Hong Kong Nursing Board and Chairman of the Hong Kong Midwives Board from 1988 until she retired in 1992. Autonomy had also come with accountability, Ms. Chen was the first nurse to attend the LegCo meetings and answer questions on nursing related issues.