The university offers master's and doctorate-level degree programmes. The school's two-year, part-time master of nursing degree allows students to specialise in a choice of five areas - gerontology, critical care, cardiac, oncology and palliative/mental health.

'Nursing is moving towards specialities and this is a way of preparing students for advanced practice roles,' Professor Lee said. As the population ages, gerontology is a speciality that will see the greatest number of nursing shortages. 'By 2030, one out of four people in Hong Kong will be over the age of 65,' she said.

CUHK's master's degree and PhD in nursing also offer traditional research-focused degrees. The master's degree is designed to develop the ability of graduate nurses to investigate an aspect of professional practice through a supervised research project.

The focus of the PhD programme is original research, along with the advancement of nursing knowledge, and the development of leadership roles in tertiary education and health care delivery.

At Polytechnic University (PolyU), the master of science in nursing offers specialisations in family and community health, gerontology, emergency nursing and nursing management, and end-of-life care, with plans for further development in areas such as chronic disease management and critical care nursing.

'Although students can choose from several specialisations, the generic programme remains the most preferred. Other popular choices are family and community health, end-of-life care and gerontological nursing.

'I think what we'll be seeing in the future is more diversity in specialities,' said Claudia Lai, associate head of the school of nursing at PolyU.

She added that most nursing in Hong Kong was hospital-based, and that more community care was needed. Chronic disease management is a specialisation that is expected to be offered in September, and it has increasing relevance in light of Hong Kong's demographic profile.

'People are living longer and the prevalence of disease increases with age. This area should be a major concern within the health care system,' Dr Lai said.

The master's degree programme is open to nurses with a bachelor's degree who may or may not be practising in specialised fields.

PolyU also has a master of nursing degree for bachelor's degree holders from other fields who are interested in entering the nursing profession. The programme is a collaboration between PolyU and the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital. Graduates can apply for registration as registered nurses. PolyU also offers a research-based doctorate and a clinical doctorate in nursing.

Dr Lai's hope for the future is that advanced degrees will lead to an expanded role for nurses. 'We hope to see nurses become more engaged in independent functions. One model is the nurse practitioner in the United States, where you can make an appointment to see a nurse rather than a doctor,' she said.

This is already the case at the PolyU school of nursing's integrated health clinic and at its mobile integrated health clinic. 'But these are only a few examples,' she said.

HKU offers a two-year, part-time master of nursing degree, with specialisations in advanced practice nursing, public health, paediatric nursing, and health services planning and development.

The programme prepares practising nurses for expanded and extended roles that are in keeping with the rapid changes in today's health care environment. A dissertation is an important part of the course.

The university will offer a new four-year, full-time or six-year, part-time doctor of nursing programme in September for advanced practice nurses. Nurses interested in postgraduate degrees can also enrol in HKU's research-oriented master's and PhD programmes.