Introduction: I have been asked by the Honorary Secretary of the Hong Kong branch of the Royal Society of Health to write a paper on any subject relating to the work of our society. This embraces health and welfare, in a wide variety of forms, leading into many varied professions thus making the choice of subjects almost endless. My topic dealing with the role of the training officer, chosen I hasten to add after long deliberations, should, I feel, be of increasing interest to most professions. There is no doubt that in the future the training officer will be far more important in Hong Kong than he is today. I also wish to make it clear that the views expressed in this paper are my own and are given in a personal capacity...