Over the Term 2 break, I shadowed Dr Chong Yew Thong (Dermatology department) of Gleneagles Hospital Penang. My motivation behind this experience was to gain practical insight into the field of a medical practitioner as well as to contribute in any possible manner to the institution of my short term attachment. A Dermatologist in my family assisted in communicating my interest to Dr Chong, who immediately accepted and agreed with my attachment. I was advised to write formally to the Human Resources Department to record my interest and seek approval from the Medical Affairs and Quality Department of GMC, as stricter requirements were in place due to the Covid pandemic situation.
Mr Hollis, SJIIM’s University and Career’s Counselor, also kindly assisted in helping to write a referral letter in support of my observation in a hospital setting, which I attached with my email to the HR together with all the requested supporting documents. Once the process of observership request was approved, I was required to read through the hands-off observership policy sent prior to reporting myself to work. On the first two days of my attachment, I had orientation sessions for about an hour in the morning, on Hand sanitization and Safety policies in the hospital before heading to Dr Chong’s clinic. The most memorable parts of my observership would definitely be the procedures I managed to watch – Cryotherapy, scraping skin cells for viewing under the microscope (to check for fungal infection of skin), Cortisone shots for cystic acne, Surgitron mole removals as well as steroid injections for Alopecia. It was interesting to see a mix of common and ‘unique’ cases in Dr Chong’s clinic as well; Eczema and seborrheic keratosis were the most common cases, and ‘unique’ ones included cellulitis, vitiligo, leprosy and melanonychia. Shadowing Dr Chong has made me realize that a lot of paperwork goes on in between/after seeing patients; a lot of medicine is simply documentation: if you don’t write down that something happened, it’s like it never happened. I have also learnt that doctors from various departments often communicate and confide with each other to ensure prescription and procedures do not clash as some patients come in with multiple conditions. Seeing close to seventy patients throughout a week long’s attachment as well as Dr Chong’s handling of patient’s cases, has surely made me aspire to be one in a position to provide that hope and relief in whatever field I may end up in.
Deborah Ong