Kanashvili Bidzina M.D. from Tbilisi, Georgia

Clinical Paediatric Orthopaedics Fellow July – December 2016
Dept. of O&T, The Duchess of Kent Children’s Hospital

Since I became a medical student, I have learnt about your Fellowship Programme. My senior friends, the successful Orthopedic Surgeons in my country who went through training in Duchess of Kent Children’s Hospital, recommended it highly. Georgian Doctors show trust and respect for the doctors in University of Hong Kong.

I was really happy when I received the letter of acceptance. From then on I was awaiting a great experience and a friendly atmosphere. I would like to extend my thanks to Secretary May Ng from DKCH for always offering timely help in organizing documentation required of the Programme.

I arrived at HK at the beginning of July 2016. I am grateful to the amazing people I first met here, the Chief of Paediatric Orthopedic Team Dr. Wang Chow and Dr. Evelyn Kuong. Under their supervision, I was able to perform all the duties. My mentors have been very supportive and working here has been comfortable from the very beginning.

Patients in DKCH come from different parts of world for treatment and I have been seeing a lot of difficult and complicated cases. I realized how widely acclaimed the place is and how much knowledge I could gain. I started to learn the differences between the system I was used to and the one in Hong Kong. Even if I had my own ways of management and was thinking it was the best option, I was always keen and happy to discuss interesting cases with my mentors. For every detail I was interested in, they never hesitated to provide explanation. They were very generous with their expert opinions based on literature and personal experiences. I was able to acquire detailed knowledge and came to enjoy this journey a lot more as days went by. Every day was a new possibility to widen my vision and to look out of a box.

My aim is to improve Paediatric Orthopedic Service in my country and I really appreciate the support from my mentors. They provided information in our daily exchanges about medical issues by giving me the most recent articles, books and recommendations. I did daily Ward Rounds and I participated in doing examination on hospitalized patients. The methods of treatment were updated daily and discussed among team members. Here I was presenting pediatric patients for weekly pre-operative meetings and for grand rounds. I found it very productive, as going deep into medical records and studying problems from the very beginning brought better understanding to any cases. My mentors were well familiar with every case and I trusted their expert opinions on every possible option. Open discussions were made. My opinions were also given and options suggested were included. To be honest, at first I was hesitant and shy. Taking the advice and encouragement of Dr. W. Chow and Dr. E. Kuong, I felt much more comfortable to express my views and engage in discussions. My opinions were discussed and given very constructive advice. I found this kind of interactions very educational for me because I could improve myself in a lot of ways. The environment in the department was very academic. I am so honored to have been part of this excellent team.

Surgeries were very interesting and I would like to thank my mentors for actively involving me in them. Multiple cases of acquired / congenital limb deformities, hip disorders and others were operated. I was lucky to have assisted Dr. W. Chow in the surgical procedure called – Modified Dunn Procedure. This kind of surgery requires a high level of skills and very few people are doing it properly. I was happy to see how fast the patient was able to rehabilitate after surgery. At the end of my Fellowship Programme, I was able to meet that specific patient in SOPD clinic and he was walking normally.

I would like to especially show my appreciation by saying thank you to the Head of Orthopedic Department, Professor Kenneth Cheung and Professor KDK Luk, for giving me opportunities to discuss interesting cases in scoliosis clinic. It has been an honor to learn from these world famous surgeons.

It was a very nice experience to be given the chance to attend Saturday inter-hospital meetings regularly and serve as a judge for SP Chow Group Presentations.

I assisted my team with a interesting research about DDH. The research will be published after my departure from the beautiful Hong Kong. I look forward to seeing the final outcome soon. I would like to give special thanks to Dr. E. Kuong for inviting me to participate in the project.

It does not go without saying that as a foreign doctor here, I did not experience a single problem with the patients or their families, as they were always very friendly towards me. Whenever I needed translation for them, the nurses were helpful. Communicating with others was really easy as most people here speak perfect English. The environment was very easy-going

Summary
I have improved my Orthopaedic skills and understanding and have become more confident during my journey here. The Fellowship Programme has provided me with valuable experience and this would serve as a guide for my further development. I appreciated the kindness seen in the mutual support among colleagues, who needed and valued experience of others for improving quality of services.

I respect the staffs of the department and will show my gratitude and all possible support at any circumstances. I appreciate you as Global Citizens for providing priceless experience and making life better for people not only in your country, but in the rest of the World.

Thank you for everything!