Introduction: Having been a doctor for 10 years, the greatest satisfaction Professor Zhang had was being able to contribute to the lives of his patients. After the patients had recuperated and resumed their normal lives and work, their families and communities benefitted from it.

Hi everyone, through the Singapore ‘Heartbeat’ newsletter, we featured monthly interview articles on workplace Christians from all walks of life for the past few months. Among them were businessmen, scientists, entrepreneurs and educators. Today, we are introducing Professor Zhang Rong Qiang, a doctor and the Chairman of the Changi General Hospital Medical Board.

Youth aspiration

Professor Zhang, a Professor who has practised medicine for numerous years, comes across as warm-hearted and modest to those who know him. When he was young, he lived in the rustic areas of Singapore, a stark contrast to present-day Singapore. There were villagers and undeveloped regions of wilderness. Most of the people planted vegetables and reared fish, pigs, chickens and ducks for a livelihood. It was the same for Zhang’s family. Since childhood, Rong Qiang was fond of small animals. His family kept a lot of wild dogs which often got injured fighting against each another. He cleaned and bandaged their wounds. This fuelled his passion for protecting and taking care of small animals. When he saw these puppies being nursed back to health, from limping to walking, he brimmed with joy and had a sense of achievement. He aspired to be a veterinarian in the future.

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As his family was poor, he had to work part-time while studying since Secondary Two. This provided him with opportunities to get to know people from diverse backgrounds in society. Through these experiences, he witnessed the different stages in life. He was baptised as a Christian in his “A” level days. He thanked the Lord for having grown up in such an environment. It enriched his life and kept him from bad influences. He studied diligently to complete his studies, and finally became a doctor.

Upon graduation from Secondary School, he knew that there were no veterinary studies in Singapore. As his family could not afford an overseas education for him, he decided to study Biomedicine in the local university. When he finished his Masters in Medicine, he was assigned to the cardiology department for internship before choosing his area of specialisation. In the process of saving patients with heart attacks, he saw how a mere few minutes could turn a person’s life around miraculously! However, the specialists in other areas had to wait for some time before seeing the effects of medicine after prescribing them. Therefore, he thought that if he chose to specialise in cardiology, he would make a greater contribution to the patients! However, the gastroenterology department was his next internship placement. He was at the frontier of using endoscopic techniques to treat emergency cases of patients with bleeding stomachs. The cardiology and endoscopic treatments employ different techniques with equal success, so Professor Zhang finally chose to specialise in gastroenterology.

At that point in time, many people thought he was cut out to be a surgeon since his mind-set and attitudes were geared towards seeing immediate results. On the other hand, a medical doctor has to spend more time with patients and think through their medical conditions. However, Professor Zhang felt that a surgeon had to deal with medical issues in the fastest possible time and spend considerable amount of time with the patients, so it wasn’t what he was inclined to do. Ultimately, he decided on gastroenterology as he could put to use his ‘skills’ and ‘mental abilities’, achieving a balance in practice, processing of thoughts and communication. In doing so, he was able to use his talents to help patients.

Passion became a source of motivation

Not only does the mission of doctors encompass the practice of medicine, research and education, they also include showing their care and concern for patients, saving lives, promoting healthcare, and giving others hope in life. It was a symbol of love and a way of conveying it. Dr Zhang said that the study of medicine was not only for talented people. The most essential quality underlying it was still the heart. He often told his students or those younger than him, “Being a doctor is not an occupation. Instead, it is a form of passion.” As a doctor, he had to rush to treat an emergency case that occurred anytime, anywhere. As the saying goes, ‘The doctors have the hearts of parents.’ It means that the doctors always place their patients in the top priority. Thus, it was painful to see doctors treating medicine as merely an occupation. Rather, one would be happier and could last longer in it if passion was derived from the job.

Dr Zhang recalled that once he and his girlfriend (now his wife) went to watch a movie. Midway through the movie, he suddenly received a phone call and rushed back to the hospital for an emergency case. His girlfriend hailed a cab and returned home alone. Upon reflection, he laughed and exclaimed, “Courtship can wait but not the patient!”

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Dr Zhang perceived that the most fundamental qualities as doctors were ‘passion’ and ‘practitioners having the hearts of parents’. Apart from it, what about the training and the requirements of specialists? He said that as medicine evolved rapidly, there were constant new discoveries and developments. Being a doctor, he would follow up on the developments and self-study in order to enhance his knowledge and skills. These were the necessary fundamental abilities. The doctors must continuously study in-depth so that they can make greater contributions to the world of medicine.

The Lord sounded the alarm

After Zhang Rong Qiang finished his National Service, he returned to the hospital as a military doctor.  An idea hatched in his mind. He wanted to apply for a Masters in Medicine and for medical studies at the Royal College of Physicians. He was just married. He shared with his wife that he planned to attain the double certification before embarking on training to become a specialist. This required many years of medical studies, so he sought support from his wife as he had to be focused on his training and be prepared for examinations.

His wife was understanding and supportive of his dreams in the pursuit of his career. She acceded to his requests and tried her best to complement him. She was a great helper, shouldering the family responsibilities and contributed quietly in the background. When the honeymoon period had just ended, Zhang Rong Qiang started on his intensive medical training. Every day, he worked in the hospital till 10pm. His wife would crane her head out of the windows, trying to catch a glimpse of his return. As soon as he reached home, she went to the kitchen and cooked for him immediately. Every night, he had a piping hot dinner. After the meal, he drifted off to sleep due to exhaustion. They hardly communicated with each other.

Zhang Rong Qiang thought that everything was going smoothly as planned. However, the Lord sounded the alarm in his plain sailing life. He learnt some lessons. He put in all his painstaking effort and time into studying, training and preparing for the examinations. At the end of it all, he failed!

Zhang Rong Qiang had to pause and reflect on his life and work. He realised that it was wrong to be too engrossed in his life and was guilty of not spend enough time with his wife. When he was preparing for his examinations the second time round, he adopted a completely different mind-set. He continued to study diligently, but did not place a lot of emphasis on the examinations. Rather, he attempted to achieve a balance in his career, family, and life so that his wife had a tranquil time awaiting the arrival of their baby and not be overworked. Midway through his examinations, his wife gave birth. Every night, Zhang Rong Qiang had to study while feeding his baby. His wife was startled at his change of attitude. He told his wife, “My family is more important than examinations. I see the examinations this time round as just one part of my life. I only need to put in my best effort.” There were 30 candidates for the examinations but only 3 of them passed. Zhang Rong Qiang was one of them. After the baby’s one month old birthday, he flew to Britain and took the examinations at the Royal College for the Physicians. He ultimately cleared them.

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Upon recollection of these events, Dr Zhang said that he thanked God for giving him a chance to learn from the first lesson. If he had passed the examinations the first time round, he might become a proud person who pursued his own ambitions and success. Through this, he realised the insufficiency of his own abilities, and humbly acknowledged that a lot of things were not within his plans and control. In conclusion, he added: “Even though we have to put in our best effort at work, we need to have the right focus in life. If we have a parochial view of our work and over-emphasize it, it will be an obstacle in our lives.”

During the second round of examinations, Zhang Rong Qiang had to oversee some areas in his life while preparing for it. The chances of success were not high, but God enabled him to achieve it. To sum it up, he shared his favourite Bible verse, Matthew 6:33, ‘But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.’

A sense of responsibility and missions

Since 1991, Zhang Rong Qiang had assumed responsibilities at Singapore Changi General Hospital. Through the years, he saw the transformation and growth of this hospital. As the Chairman of the Medical Board, he is to draw up policies and guidelines that will have an impact on the doctors, nurses and staff across all levels. Therefore, it will affect thousands of patients. The sphere of influence is broad, so he has to be cautious in writing the hospital policies. In order to grasp a bigger picture, he attended some courses to strengthen his abilities in management and development of policies. The ultimate goal of his mission was to lead the younger generation of doctors and produce more distinguished doctors who would make greater contributions to the patients.

He shared: “We hope that his hospital will be the safest and most reliable locally, and even in the world. Although we may not currently be the best or achieved our expectations, we will strive hard in our progress towards it. In this way, the patients will receive higher standards of treatment and better quality of service!”

Having been a doctor for 10 years, the greatest satisfaction Professor Zhang had was being able to contribute to the lives of his patients. After the patients recuperated and resumed their normal lives and work, their families and communities benefitted from it. However, he stressed, “The doctor is not god. Even the best doctor has patients who can’t be treated.” He added that when he was a young doctor, he was more preoccupied with ‘treating the illness’. Later, it dawned on him that the doctor should not treat the illness but the patient. For those who couldn’t be cured, if the doctor could help them live the last phase of their lives meaningfully and without regrets, it was a source of comfort and achievement to them.

Did Dr Zhang have any regrets or inadequacies in life? He sighed and put forward humorously: “If only we could have 25 hours a day!” He would spend more time with his wife and family. This resonated with the inner voice of almost all doctors!

Thank you for tuning in to today’s episode.  Tune in next time to “Workplace Strategy” as we continue the journey of living for Christ in the workplace.

Source: This article ‘From a small village veterinarian to the Chairman of the Medical Board at a hospital’ is taken from Singapore ‘Heartbeat’ newsletter. Edited content.