This year, IMU awarded the Alumni Award 2023 to its medical alumnus, Dr Wong Ping Foo in conjunction with University Day. It was a well-deserved award as Dr Wong truly embodies the spirit of continuous learning and serving the community. Presently he is a dedicated doctor, specialising in the field of Family Medicine with subspeciality in Primary Care Non-Communicable Diseases and special interest in Primary Care Geriatrics. He is also the Head of Clinic at Klinik Kesihatan Cheras Baru. For someone who has an extensive list of accomplishments, Dr Wong remains warm and grounded, ever willing to share his knowledge and experience.
His CV reads like a never-ending list and is a combination of professional experience and community involvement. Among it includes research, publication, write-ups, and innovation with regards to fields that ranges from diabetes, hypertension, dengue, geriatric and sexual health clinic services to name a few. Dr Wong also serves as a technical expert committee for various departments under the Malaysian Ministry of Health on top of being involved with Family Medicine training such as being a Clinical Supervisor for IMU, Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz UKM, Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia (AFPM), and Clinical Gazettor for Ministry of Health (MOH) among others and actively makes time as an invited speaker at various institutions.
As if he wasn’t already doing enough, Dr Wong also has a hand in preparation of diverse guidelines under the purview of ‘Jawatankuasa Profesyen Pakar Perubatan Keluarga’ MOH and Malaysian Family Medicine Specialists’ Association (FMSA). He is also the current associate editor and reviewer of Malaysian Family Physician Journal as well as reviewer for other journals such as Medical Journal of Malaysia and Malaysian Journal of Medicine & Health Science. By some miracle, Dr. Wong still manages to carve out time to be an active part of his young doctor’s network via The Rajakumar Movement in the WONCA Asia Pacific Region and community via his involvement as a medical volunteer for Tzu-Chi International Medical Association.
Studying medicine has always been something he inherently wanted to do and once he set his mind to it there was no turning back. He remembers fondly that his favorite subject was Family Medicine and that love for the subject drove him to specialise in that area while continuing to learn and teach at the same time. He stresses that cultivating the love and passion for something is an important factor as it will serve as constant driving force. Combined with the virtue of patience in all things we embark in, hardly anything is impossible.
Looking back at the challenges he overcame, there is nothing he would change for all the adversities he triumphed has contributed to the person he is today. Dr Wong wisely shares that there is something to learn in everything and it is a hallmark of a good family physician to constantly strive to improve one’s knowledge and skill. It is after all essential to remain relevant in an ever changing and evolving primary healthcare. He also expresses his gratitude to all his seniors, teachers, mentors, friends and loved ones for all their continuous guidance and support.
| Dr Wong’s advice to the IMU student community | |
|---|---|
| Persevere against all challenges and perfect the art of adapting to changes. Nothing is constant and those who are agile with changing according to the times will have no problem finding their place in the future. He finishes off with emphasizing that it is important to always have your eyes on the prize and move forward with steely determination to succeed. | |
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