Newsletter No. 154

CUHK Newsletter No. 154 19th November 1999 3 New Department Heads Series A People's Man — New Chair of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Puts P a t i e n t s , S t a f f , and Students First Nowadays it may be unthinkable to have a surgical operation w i t h o ut anaesthesia. Yet, painful and barbaric as it may seem, this was quite the case only one and a half centuries ago. I n Ho ng Kong, there are estimated to be about five to six hund r ed thousand surgical operations a year, most of wh i ch w o u l d be largely impossible w i t h o ut anaesthesia. Prof. Tony Gin, new chair of the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the Faculty of Medicine, said that as a medical speciality, anaesthesia is mu ch broader n ow than wh en it was still very mu ch associated w i t h surgery. On ly about 60 per cent of the wo r k of a mo d e rn anaesthetic department is related to surgeons i n the operating room. The other 40 per cent is related to acute and chronic pain medicine; perioperative medicine, obstetric analgesia i n the labour wa r d; and services to physicians, radiologists, and other medical personnel requiring the administration of anaesthesia for various procedures. Intensive care medicine has evolved as a separate speciality, looking after adult and paediatric surgical and medical patients. P a t i e n t S a f e t y and S a f i s f a c t i o n a Major C o n c e r n The drugs anaesthetists use to suppress unwanted responses from patients such as pain and movement are toxic, and often lethal. They produce different effects i n different patients depending on factors such as their age, the nature and extent of illness, whether they are pregnant, etc. 'People sometimes think that receiving an anaesthetics is very simple and without much risk, no different from, perhaps, going to have an x-ray, or a blood test, wh en i n fact there is significant mortality from anaesthesia because the drugs involved are dangerous and the patients may not be i n the best of health,' said Prof. Gin. Fortunately, he added, the safety standards and training for anaesthesia and intensive care i n Ho ng Kong are among the highest in the world. A c ommon misconception about anaesthetists is that they have m i n i mal contact w i t h the patients, that anaesthetists are there simply to administer the drug. ' I n fact anaesthetists talk extensively w i t h their patients both pre- and post-operatively. It is important that we communicate w i t h patients, convey to them information about their health and their choices i n medicine, and give them some appreciation of what happens to them wh en they come to the medical system,' said Prof. Gin. A major trend i n anaesthesia over the last decade has been the increasing emphasis on patient safety and satisfaction. According to Prof. Gin, anaesthetists play the role of the patients' advocate, always t r y i ng hard to p ut their patients, interest first and spending a lot of time to make sure that they can be anaesthetized safely. S t a f fMoraleEssentialforResearch& Teaching Excellence Research is also very important i n ensuring safety because it is often concerned w i t h f i nd i ng better and safer ways to administer drugs. Prof. G in said his department has regularly w o n prizes f r om the Australasian College of Anaesthetists for its research, mainly i n aspects of pharmacology. His o wn research interests are anaesthetic pharmacology, anaesthesia d u r i ng pregnancy, and neuroanaesthesia. He hopes that the department w i l l maintain its research output and excellence i n undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, both of wh i ch are highly rated i n the faculty and the territory. He is also determined that it w i l l continue to provide learning opportunities for anaesthetists f r om the mainland and acquire wider international recognition for its research i n a variety of sub-specialities, i n particular, obstetric anaesthesia and neuroanaesthesia. But above all, he wants to make sure that his staff are happy wo r k i ng i n the department. He is ' in one sense, more interested i n having good relations w i t h in the department than looking at external markers of success' because it is only wh en staff enjoy wo r k i ng w i t h one another i n the department that they can contribute to the progress of the department as a whole. Teaching Methods Depends on Students' 'Personality' Prof. G in believes that the objective of a medical education is to equip the students w i t h the skills and education needed to be good doctors, who should be able to communicate we ll w i t h their patients. The department's medical curriculum has a lot to offer as it is involved w i t h patients both pre-operatively and post-operatively, and covers topics such as communication skills, ethics, death, and dying. More emphasis will soon be given to the teaching of general practical skills such as c a r d i opu l mona ry resuscitation which is essential for all doctors. Anaesthesia as an academic discipline has, in terms of technology, been quite advanced i n the use of patient-centred teaching. There are actually complex h uman patient simulators that are real time fully functioning mannequins that w i l l breathe, have a pulse and blood pressure, and can be anaesthetized. Programming can simulate hundreds of problems du r i ng anaesthesia that the anaestetist can try to solve w i t hout risk to real patients. These simulators cost around three m i l l i on dollars and require ongoing maintenance and technicians for operation. Prof. G in said he wo u ld like to see one at The Chinese University as they have been found wo r l dw i de to be a valuable teaching resource that can be used for both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching not only i n anaesthesia but i n other fields i n medicine as well. I n deciding and implementing teaching methods, however, Prof. G in believes that the 'personality' of the local student audience should be taken into account, as he has learnt f r om having taught at the department for eight years f r om 1988 to 1996. 'Experience has been that students i n Ho ng Kong prefer to have more didactic teaching. This may influence the feasibility of certain kinds of teaching, and may make it harder to institute some of the measures wh i ch are considered more educationally rewarding because the local students may f i nd them threatening,' he pointed out. A n y approach to teaching, therefore, should be implemented w i t h close and constant attention to its effect on the students. Medicine is about patients; administration is about staff; and teaching is about students. Clearly for this new department chairman, the h uman element is of paramount importance i n all aspects of his job. Piera Chen 中大通訊 CUHK NEWSLETTER 網址 website http: // www.cuhk.edu.hk/puo/ 1. 本刊逢四日及十九日出版。 2. 來函或投稿請寄沙田香港中文大學秘書處出版事務處《中大通訊》 編輯部（電話 2609 8584， 傳真 2603 6864 ，電郵 pub2@uab.msmail. cuhk.edu.hk )。 3. 投稿者須附真實姓名、地址及聯絡電話，文章則可用筆名發表。 4. 編輯有權刪改及決定是否刊登來稿，不欲稿件被刪者請預先聲明。 5. 本刊所載文章只反映作者之觀點和意見，並不代表校方或本刊立 場。 6. 所有內容未經編者書面准許，不得轉載。 7. 本刊每期發行三千八百份，免費供校內教職員索閱，部分郵寄本地 教育機構及與大學有關人士。私人索閱，請致函本刊查詢。 1. The Newsletter is published on the 4th and 19th of each month. 2. All contributions and suggestions should be sent to the Editor, CUHK Newsletter, Publication Office, University Secretariat, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (tel. 2609 8584; fax. 2603 6864; e-mail pub2@uab.msmail.cuhk.edu.hk ). 3. Contributions should bear the writer's name and contact telephone number, and may be published under pseudonyms. No anonymous letters will be published. 4. The Editor reserves the right to reject contributions and to edit all articles without notice for reasons of clarity, length or grammar. Those who do not want to have their articles amended should indicate clearly in writing. 5. The views expressed in the CUHK Newsletter are those of the authors, and are not necessarily those of the University or the Editor. 6. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced without the written consent of the Editor. 7. This publication has a circulation of 3,800 and is primarily intended for staff members of CUHK. Copies are also sent to local educational institutions and individuals associated with the University. Those who wish to be included on the mailing list please contact the Newsletter direct. 截稿日期 Deadlines for Contributions 期數 Issue no. 出版日期 Issue date 截稿日期 Deadline for contributions 155 4.12.1999 17.11.1999 156 19.12.1999 3.12.1999 157 4.1.2000 15.12.1999 158 19.1.2000 4.1.2000 159 19.2.2000 26.1.2000 160 4.3.2000 17.2.2000 161 19.3.2000 2.3.2000 162 4.4.2000 20.3.2000 163 19.4.2000 30.3.2000 164 4.5.2000 13.4.2000 165 19.5.2000 3.5.2000 166 4.6.2000 18.5.2000 167 19.6.2000 2.6.2000 香港中文大學出版事務處出版 編輯：梁其汝 助理編輯：蔡世彬 李琪 陳偉珠 製作：林綺媚 Published by the Publication Office, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Editor: Amy K.Y. Leung Assistant Editors: Piera Chen, Lawrence Choi Graphic Designer: Ada Lam 印刷：鮑思高印刷有限公司 Printing: Don Bosco Printing Co. Ltd.