Diploma Conferment Ceremony
College of Pathologists
Delivered on 20 November 2004 by Dr. C.H. Leong
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by
Dr C H Leong
President, Hong Kong Academy of Medicine

          Mr. President, Honored Guests, New Graduates, Fellows, Ladies and Gentleman

          Allow me to begin by congratulating the new graduands of the College of Pathologists. I have said this many times but I feel that it is opportune to say it again and that is – tonight is a mark of your immense achievement, a turning part in your life and career. For as from today you are on your way to become a specialist in pathology, the crème de la crème, the first amongst equals, one of some 180 Fellows of the College of Pathology amongst over 10,000 registered doctors and dentists.

          Mr. President, the last few years have been perhaps the “best of times” and “ the worst of times” for the pathologist profession in particular your subspecialty of clinical microbiology and infection. Whist only a decade ago, it was thought that epidemics were a thing of the middle ages, a thing for a good script for a horror movie in Hollywood, or Bollywood, the onslanghter of Avian flu in 1997, SARS in 2003 had swept us off our feet. Today some over 30 children and a few of their careers are down with a respiratory tract problem from parainfluarza or some unknown causes where our specialists are still groping to uncover. Japanese B encephalitis are on the rampage. Yet the “worst of times” is far from over and old infection are on the return and new ones are always on the stand by. The “flu” virus is always there to outwit us. Regrettable we the human species are always at the losing end, for whilst virus mutates in seconds we tooks thousand of years to move from apes to man, loosing our tail, that is if you believe Darwin’s Theory.

          Yes we had our moments of “best of times” when we discovered the “coronovirus” causing SARS in matter of weeks. Yet we have no really win for looking at it from a pessimistic way however, whilst the virus was isolated and discovered we have as yet not found a proper treatment. With Avian flu it was more heartache, for as of today, all we can do is mass cullen of all the birds to prevent spread.

          All these calls for the need for proper training, perhaps continuous update training, life long learning and active research. The former two are the responsibilities of the Academy and the Colleges whilst research to an issue that the Academy strongly supports.

          No doubt your College and the Academy will pursue to attain standards to the highest order, for these are our responsibilities to our trainees, to our profession. It is also our accountability to the public and our pledge of the Hippocratic Oath.

          Of late there were discussions on whether the Academy should impose that there should be a minimum salary for those who have been accepted into our training programmes, for fear of exploitation. The Academy is sympathetic, furthermore we believe that lack of burden be it financial or otherwise will ensure that our trainees can devote whole heartedly to training. Yet we believe mal training standard is should no way be link to emoluments. Furthermore it is the premium responsibility and ambit of the Academy and the College to fight for the highest and the most effective training programmes for the trainees they we admit, so that our patients could know for sure that no matter which doctors they see, their health and life would be cared for by professionals equipped with the high standards and the state of the arts medical advances.

          New graduands, you must be proud to have completed your training, yet this is only the beginning to pursuit a life time career in your field of choice, to develop a culture of continue life long self learning, to nurture comradeship and partnership with other members of the health care profession and to support the mission of the Academy.

          My congratulation.