New Hong Kong DSE top scorers both have sights set on medical profession
Pair had their exam results upgraded after appealing their scores
Two talented Hong Kong students have had their Diploma of Secondary Education exam results upgraded, and both have said their own experience of physical and mental illness inspired them to strive to become doctors.
Bryan Fu Ting-hin, 17, from St Paul’s Co-educational College, and Chan Hiu-man, 18, from Tseung Kwan O Government Secondary School, each had one of their DSE exam subject results lifted from 5* to 5**, the highest possible mark, by the Authority of Examination and Assessment on Wednesday.
The remarking, prompted by appeals from the pair, brought the total number of DSE top scorers from nine to 11, including one super top scorer who got the highest mark possible for all eight exam subjects.
Fu and Chan were admitted into the medical school at the University of Hong Kong before they received their revised results.
“I was inspired to follow the path of Dr Tse Yuen-man – to be a doctor who really cares for the patients – after watching a documentary about Sars when I was in Form Three,” said Chan.
Sars, short for severe acute respiratory syndrome, was a deadly infectious disease that hit the city in 2003, killing 299 people out of 1,755 infected. Dr Tse, who was then only 35 years old, lost her life to the virus, while volunteering to work with the patients in a public hospital. The government offered Tse a hero’s burial and she was dearly remembered as “Hong Kong’s daughter”.
Chan said her aspiration to be a neurologist was further confirmed when she suffered depression in Form Five. The condition was once so severe that Chan cut her arms and legs and at least twice stood on the rooftops of her home and school after feeling suicidal impulses.
“I want to figure out what activities in the brain can lead people to such emotional statuses,” said Chan, who has generally stepped out of the shadow under support from families and teachers, as well as her habit of long-distance running along the Tseung Kwan O waterfront.
Fu heard the calling of the medical profession when he had surgery at the age of 13. “I was so nervous and uneasy when I was waiting for the doctor. And I suffered a lot because my face was painfully swollen for two weeks after the surgery,” Fu said.
Fu’s interest was deepened in a few experiential camps organised by HKU’s medical school during high school. “Being a doctor is not only about mastering some purely scientific knowledge but also making many ethical decisions,” Fu said. “I am open for the opportunities to participate in [programmes related to Medecins Sans Frontieres] during my enrichment year.”
Since the start of the 2016 academic year, medical students at HKU are required to enrol in overseas study or research programme in the third year of their undergraduate studies, which is named the enrichment year.
Both Fu and Chan were well aware of the heavy workloads for doctors in the public medical service sector in Hong Kong and both were willing to brave the challenge.
“The medical system in Hong Kong has been improving as the medical schools are admitting more students, so more doctors can be expected for the future,” Fu said.
“Everyone deserves to be cared for and helped. I will help as many as I can,” Chan said.
