The Hong Kong Clinical Experience

“Hong Kong has created one of the most successful societies on Earth.”

– Prince Charles

Looking back at this memory, I can’t help but express how much I have learnt during the short clinical attachment at the Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH), Hong Kong. I guess that’s how learning should always be – breaking out of that ‘bubble’ and exploring foreign practices and discovering how new found knowledge can be assimilated back home.

There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ in radiation therapy and that is the constant barrier we are trying to break.

As a radiation therapist, one must be adaptable, creative and compassionate. Every patient is different, from their diagnosis, to their body habitus and even their level of tolerance for oncoming treatments. And it awes me to this day how innovative therapists out there can prove to be – if we only take a look through their lens.

My main purpose of the visit to the Prince of Wales Hospital was to learn new treatment techniques and figuring out how to share this knowledge with my teammates back home. The ultimate goal was to gain the ability to offer these treatments to our Malaysian patients. That, and reconnecting with old friends in Hong Kong, of course!

Some of the key takeaways from the experience were: –

• patient positioning and immobilisation for Lung SBRT or thoracic tumours
• innovative ways to mitigate detection error during respiratory motion management
• monitoring patients SpO₂ and pulse rate during abdominal compression techniques
• using radio-opaque wires to delineate the location of the tongue depressor
• the use of ‘sponge strips’ along the cervical and thoracic spine in H&N patients immobilsed in customized cradles (alpha cradles)

Each and every team; beginning with the mould room facility, simulation, treatment planning, physics, and finally those stationed at the treatment rooms, were all working so cohesively together. It was as if they were each individual notes, coming together to form a magnificent symphony. Perhaps most importantly, they were also incredibly generous with their wealth of knowledge and never once hesitated to share their experience on what works, and what doesn’t.

Applying these techniques that I have learnt back home in Malaysia, my team and I were able to experience first-hand how they improved patient positioning and greatly enhanced our local practices. Not long after, I was humbled by the opportunity to speak as an invited speaker at an IAEA symposium in 2017 and extend this knowledge to other institutions across Malaysia.

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Radiation therapy is and always has been a pedagogical journey for me. Meeting new people along the way only motivates me to better myself professionally. Because a better me = better care for my patients. This post and its intent can perhaps be best summed up with a quote:

“Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended with diligence.”

– Abigail Adams