Page 6 - CUHK MEDICAL ALUMNI Newsletter Issue 2 Vol 6 2017

FEATURES
05

DOCTOR TURNED BARRISTER

SAYS BOTH PROFESSIONS

ARE INTERTWINED IN

MANY WAYS

”Anyone can do law and medicine…because
only by experiencing both will you know how
to bring them together.”

- Dr Alexsander Wong Shing-tak

（黃承德醫生, MBChB 2004）

r Alexsander Wong graduated All in all, it took him six years of
Dfrom the Faculty of Medicine studying before he got to where he is
of The Chinese University of Hong today - a barrister in a set of reputable
Kong in 2004 and like every other Chambers in Central.
new doctor, he settled into a job
which he thought, inevitably, would Working part-time at a private clinic
be his life-long career. afforded him a lot of time to pursue
his full-time studies. ”It was intense…
But that wasn’t to be. He found something clinic sessions in the morning, classes
else that irked his curiosity - law. And in the afternoon, then back again to
from then on he just fell for it…hook, the clinic,” he recollects. He would
line and sinker. get home at around 10 pm, grab a
few hours of study before sleep and
”My first brush with the law was then start all over again the next day.
when I had to help an elderly family
member who was involved in a Asked if he missed medicine, Dr
property dispute. I had to go to court Wong laughs: ”I do…sometimes.
to handle the matter.” But you know, medicine and law are
intertwined in a lot of ways.
At the time, Dr Wong had just completed
his internship in 2005 at various hospitals ”Take informed consent, for instance.
and was working as a fully-fledged family The law requires doctors to tell the
doctor at a private clinic. patients about their treatments, the family because he can control his
risks involved and what could happen work schedule. It also gives him time
It was during his frequent trips to court if we don’t do certain things. to share his legal knowledge, through
that triggered his keen interest in law. invitational talks, with other doctors.
So two years into his work as a private ”A lot of medical disputes require the
doctor, Dr Wong enrolled with the law to resolve them so it’s important He remembers his alma-mater fondly:
Juris Doctor Programme run by CUHK for doctors to know what their legal ”I have been with CUHK for over a
in 2007. He graduated in 2009 but obligations are.” decade…studying medicine and law.
could not be considered a professional In some respects, it has moulded me
lawyer because he still had to take up And, Dr Wong adds, his medical into the person I am now. It taught
Postgraduate Certificate in Laws, PCLL. expertise has not been put to waste. As me discipline and helped me excel in
a barrister, he does come across cases problem-solving.”
After obtaining his PCLL, he decided which involve medical negligence or he
to pursue a Master of Law degree at has to make judgements on the mental Dr Wong has a vision to bridge the gap
Cambridge University in 2011. capacity of clients. between the two professions, saying:
”Anyone can do law and medicine…
”Then, I had to go through one-and-a- He says being a barrister certainly because only by experiencing both will
half years of pupillage,” Dr Wong says. gives him more quality time with his you know how to bring them together.”