Doctor - a zigzag journey

Part 28 - The Heart

Background: 2001- 2003 (Age 34 - 36 years)  

After attending a small study group, I had a chat with a classmate - CH.

"If you continue working as an engineering consultant, you may be wealthy now," CH said in Cantonese jokingly. He continued: "You may be able to afford a Mercedes and BMW by now."

CH could be right. I was a mature student who gave up my wealth then. But, I believe that life is not meant to be purely materialistic. Studying medicine was a calling to serve other humans. Anyway, I did not end up having a philosophical talk with CH. Instead, I replied, "Yeah, you could be right, let's move on."

The life was quite routine then i.e. attending lectures, clinical skills classes, and problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials; seeing patients under the supervision of a clinician; sitting for an endless number of examinations. There were many lecturers and professors from the international partner medical schools came to deliver lectures.

A lecture on conception and development of a baby - embryology - impressed me. Knowing that various organ were developed at different stages of pregnancy amazed me.

"The embryo receives its nutrition and oxygen from the placenta. The need for nutrition and oxygen increases as the embryo develops and it cannot be fully met by diffusion from the placenta without the foetal heart, which is the first organ to function at the beginning of the 4th week of gestation," Professor DR explained while showing an image of the development of the foetus. 

"As the lung of the foetus is not functional yet, the heart needs these anatomical parts called foramen ovale and ductus arteriosus to circulate blood bypassing the lung," the professor continued. 

If those anatomical parts do not close properly after birth, a defect may occur. The Murphy's Law states, "If something can go wrong, it will." My engineering knowledge of how the heart functioned like a mechanical pump and how an artificial heart valve was made came back alive in my brain (Part 16 and 17 in this memoir). Integrating and applying my engineering knowledge in medicine is my passion.

How lucky I was born "defect free"! In 1967, my mother gave birth to me when she was 38. She did not know that the risk of Down's syndrome increases in older mum; she also had no idea of a contraceptive method. If she did know, I might not have come to this world. It was a blessing to be brought to this world. I appreciated the purpose of life and responded to the calling to serve other humans.

One afternoon, I attended a lecture presented by a visiting professor about the leading edge research conducted at one of the Ivy Leagues universities in USA - Dartmouth Medical School*.

"This is the photograph of our hospital, pathology laboratory, and research facilities," Professor Jerry Yeo, who was a professor of pathology at Dartmouth, presented with a boundless zest. It was a grand building with sophisticated facilities. It was my dream to do an elective term in the USA. Well, it was just a dream at this stage.

"We are researching on a plasma biomarker  called NT-proBNP secreted by the heart (cardiac myocytes)....." Professor Jerry Yeo continued.

I was interested in the research.

"Any question from the audience?" he asked as he looked at the first few rows of the audience in search for someone with a question.

Sitting on the back bench, I waved my hand vigorously with a burning question.

"What are the sensitivity and specificity of the plasma biomarker?" I asked confidently because the question was related to my past experience as a statistician.

"Well, these are the statistics......," he explained.

"Thank you," I replied.

At the end of the talk, I met Professor Jerry Yeo. I introduced myself and got his email address. He said that his sister (Professor PN Yeoh) was a professor in the pharmacy faculty at the International Medical University (IMU), and she could discuss with me about my plan to do an elective term in the USA. I told Prof Jerry Yeo that I required a scholarship to go to the USA because of my financial constraint. This made my application more challenging. Well, I faced the challenge.

Note:

*  Dartmouth College is one of the eight Ivy League Universities in the USA. The Ivy League was originally set up as a sports league for elite colleges. Now, it has become associated with quality academics. Ivy League Universities include Harvard University, Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, Yale University, Brown University, Columbia University, and Cornell University.