A Review

 

June is the month for HKMA Council Election.  You would probably have received the election materials.  Please remember to return your ballot paper before July 8.  2010 is the year for the election of HKMA President, which is held every two years.  Results of election will be announced during the Annual General Meeting on July 22.  It is the tradition that composition of committees will be reviewed with the change of President.  So this might be the last issue for me to be writing as the Editor of the News.  In fact my three-year term for Council Member will also end this year.  If I were not re-elected, this would be the end of my six years’ service as Council Member for HKMA.  It is my habit to have a brief review.

Two years ago, my first editorial made an analogy of the News to a bridge, providing a two-way flow of information between the HKMA Council and our members.  I also showed a photo of the Treetop Walkway in Kew Gardens of London, which is an 18-meter high footbridge allowing visitors to view the treetops.  This was the function that I meant to emphasize: to view things from a different angle.  In these two years, the good traditions of the News had been continued, while some new features were added.  There had been establishment of the editor@hkma.org for easier communication between the editorial board and members, ensuring the function of bi-directional flow of information.  There had been the interview sessions, looking from a different angle at the Secretary for Justice, our Legco Councilor, the Dean of Medical School, past presidents of different organizations, young doctors and medical students.  There had also been the photo corner featuring fantastic pictures from our members.  Apart from these changes, I hope you might notice that the News have been reaching you punctually, on or before the 25^th day of each month.  Moreover, the quality of the print has improved.  The number of pages has also been increasing for the enriched contents and the increased flow of information.

This time, at the end of my term, I paid a visit to another Continent.  I left behind the Tower Bridge, the London Bridge, the Millennium Bridge and the Kew Treetop Walkway.  I found a good site and took a good look at the Golden Gate Bridge.  The Golden Gate Bridge connects the city of San Francisco to Marin County.  It is the most internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco.  When talking about San Francisco, people will automatically think of the Gold Gate Bridge, and vice versa.  The bridge is very accommodative for passengers.  It has six lanes for vehicles, as well as wide pavements for foot traffic and cyclists.  As the bridge is the only road to exit San Francisco to the northern part, traffic is always busy.  I was amazed when I first observed the flexibility of the bridge.  There are altogether six lanes for vehicles.  In order to conform to traffic patterns, the median markers between the lanes are not fixed.  During my visit, four of the six lanes ran northbound on weekday afternoons.  On the contrary, four lanes ran southbound in the evening after a long weekend holiday.  The measures are very appreciative, as they allow a pathway to have great flexibility.  The features of the Golden Gate Bridge are actually my visions of the News.  I hope the Association and the News are joined at the hip.  While continue serving the functions as a bridge, I wish the News will provide larger flow of information and greater flexibility.

A review of my work cannot leave without reviewing the “From the Editor” column.  Before I became the Editor two years ago, and in fact before I became a Council Member six years ago, I have been submitting articles to the News.  Some of you might be able to recall some of my interesting stories in Chinese (and I like “Advices for Family Doctors” and “Signature version” most).  Having a quick glance through the twenty odd editorials, most of them were on events happened on that particular month: Legco Election, Lehman Brothers, Healthcare Reform, melamine-tainted milk, Obama, increase intake of medical students, contaminated and unlicensed medications, H1N1, school drug tests…  Another feature noticed was that more than half of the editorials touched on medico-legal issues and Medical Council cases.  Afterall, I have a degree in law and a master degree in medical law.  But it was not only my own interest and my training that made me write on these issues.  I thought that they were important and I had the duty to bring to readers’ attention of the cases, and of my views on them.  These included the doctor with inappropriate personal contact with his patient, the advertising doctor, the “honest but mistaken belief” in a doctor who practiced without registration, the indecent assault at A&E case, the celestamine case and the laboratory tests equal to rebate in disguise case.  It was the laboratory tests equal to rebate in disguise case that was written on most.  A detailed analysis spanned three pages in the September 09 issue, followed by another article in the May 10 issue after a letter from the Chairperson of the Medical Council expressing her personal opinions on the subject matter.  I hoped that these articles did not bore our readers.  But as a Council Member of the Medical Council, I felt the duty to share my opinions with members on this important decision which would affect most, if not all, doctors in private practice.  I am very glad that my expressed opinions are shared and support by many members, including members from the Medical Council and its committees.  I am expecting good news from the Medical Council concerning the clarification of the decision.

(Source: HKMA News June 2010)