Junior Doctor Andy: "I do not believe in panic, it helps nobody"

Andy Kong Andy Kong — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:05:11 +0000

Hello all! My name is Andy and I am from Hong Kong. I am one of the seven doctors who took part in the series Junior Doctors - Your Life in Their Hands and I would like to take this opportunity to tell everyone a bit about me.

Doctor Andy Kong

I was 14 when I came to the UK. I attended a boarding school near York called Ampleforth College. This school played (and still plays) a significant part in my life. It gave me confidence which is later reflected in my personal and professional life.

Being the son of a lawyer I have always had a natural affinity towards the legal field. However, soon after entering sixth-form I discovered that my father had wanted to be a doctor when he was my age but his health denied him the opportunity. This became the reason for me to wear the white coat.

My time in the medical school was not straight forward. I had doubts - Do I really want to be a doctor? Did I come into medicine for the wrong reasons? Should I change course and go back to law... I questioned myself over and over again, but eventually came up with a simple conclusion. I will finish what I started, I always had.

Being F1 (in the first foundation year as a newly qualified doctor) was a culture shock - I had responsibilities (real ones). I could no longer just decide not to go in because I did not want to get out of bed. Patients were actually ill, and I had to do something. My knowledge was being tested and tested, and I had to remain composed and look confident in the face of adversity. I do not believe in panic, it helps nobody.

It was an awkward feeling in the beginning when patients called me Dr Kong, it made me feel twenty years older and generally uncomfortable.

Andy Kong, Adam Beaini, Lucy Holmes, Katherine Conroy, Keir Shiels, Suzi Batchelor and Jon Barclay in Junior Doctors: Your Life in Their Hands

F2 (the second Foundation year) is better, generally because I am no longer the ward monkey and there is some experience behind me. Starting in the children's ward was scary though, as I was so accustomed to seeing adult patients who would readily give me the information I ask for whereas with children I have to learn how to do my job while playing games with them. Simple procedures like taking blood become more difficult and heartbreaking when it is done on a child. It also takes some good skills to comfort anxious parents when their children are sick. Death and dying are even more unbearable. Saying that, it is not all doom and gloom. Often we see children coming to us drastically ill, but after a bit of intervention, they leave laughing and bouncing. The wonderful smiles from the children and their relieved parents are what motivate me to go to work everyday.

I signed up to do this documentary as I would like to show the world what being a junior doctor is really like, to remind the public that we are just ordinary human beings and we have a life outside work just like everyone else. The filming was tiring and time-consuming, I frequently had to walk through a door three times so the crew could catch the shots from different angles. They were outside my door before I got out of bed and still in our house when we went to sleep. They were very nice people though.

Anyway, enough said about me. I hope you enjoy the show.

Andy Kong features in Junior Doctors: Your Life in Their Hands tonight at 9pm.

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BBC Three - Blog - Andy Kong

Junior Doctor Andy: "I do not believe in panic, it helps nobody"