by Dr. Iain
Corness
Many
parents are proud when their offspring show some interest in following
medicine as a career, and in fact will actively push sons and daughters
towards medical universities. This was not the case for Bangkok Pattaya
Hospital’s Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. Suradej LoiDuenxai (family name
pronounced “Loydooenchai”), whose family was heavily into engineering,
often thought of as the antithesis of medicine.
Dr. Suradej was born in Bangkok, the eldest of three
boys. His father was a consulting engineer, and his mother also an
engineer, rising to become the CEO of an engineering section within the
Ministry of Energy. Engineering was so ingrained in this family, that both
his younger brothers also went into engineering. Suradej was certainly the
‘odd man out’ in this family.
He received a private school education in Bangkok, but
when he was ready to enter Grade VIII, he went to America for 12 months,
to stay with an aunt who was working over there. “It was a great
opportunity,” said Dr. Suradej, “But I think I was really too young
for the experience. There are so many differences in the two communities,
though if I had been there later (in my schooling when I was older) I
might have wanted to stay.”
On his return to Thailand, his education continued, and
it was obvious that he was a high achiever. However, despite very high
GPA’s he still showed no interest in engineering. His parents then
decided that economics might be the field for their errant son, but this
he did not see as his future either.
Continuing his education, he went to one of the new
‘Demonstration’ schools in Bangkok, where above average students were
‘streamed’ according to their aptitudes. Testing showed that young
Suradej would be best in one of the caring professions, and he was put
into the first health programs to be run in the school. In this, he was
sent to orphanages and old people’s homes, and similar institutions, and
this did not dampen his enthusiasm. It was obvious he had been streamed
correctly and finishing school he enrolled in the medical faculty at
Chulalongkorn University.
As an undergraduate, Suradej was busy, working on
student committees, was in the university photography club, and becoming
an elite university sportsman. Not the usual outdoor sporting contests,
but playing Bridge! “University sports included Bridge in those days, so
I was a university sportsman,” said Dr. Suradej with a grin. In fact he
was so good at Bridge, that it almost brought his studies undone. “It
made my Mum feel very sick. Both my parents played Bridge, but it stopped
my father completing his Masters degree, and my grades fell.” Apparently
after mother dropped the Club on him, he put his Heart back into studies,
dug deeply with his Spade and turned up the Diamonds he was capable of.
(And sorry about all those puns, but at least I didn’t call up Trumps!)
Medicine is a career that has many specialties, and it
is not unusual for an undergraduate to initially think that one specialty
attracts them, and finally end up in another. The newly graduated young
Dr. Suradej was one of those. Initially he felt that he would like to be
an obstetrician, but he also wanted to get out of Bangkok, so he took a
position in Chantaburi, where he was to stay in an outlying hospital for
three years. Obstetrical patients were not the majority there.
Orthopaedics was the biggest problem for the new young doctor. Motorcycle
accidents taking their toll on the young people in the province.
After the end of his three years, he knew that
orthopaedics would be his future, so he returned to Chulalongkorn
University to study this specialty. Remember that he had already completed
six years undergraduate training, plus another three years out in the
field. He now went back for another four years, to sit his Board
examinations in orthopaedics, plus another one year for his Fellowship.
And then another year on top as he had become interested in hand surgery
and the necessary microsurgical techniques required in this very exacting
area. “Microsurgeons don’t live very long,” said Dr. Suradej
ruefully.
For those of mathematical bent, fifteen years after
leaving school, the young specialist could look forward to hopefully
making some decent earnings. “Maybe engineering would have been
better,” he said. “If it were money only, my Mum was correct!” This
is one aspect of medical practice that many do not realize. Whilst the
rewards in later life may appear good, one must never forget the years of
study and minimal salary on the way up. In this case, fifteen years!
Now a very well trained specialist, he moved to
Sriracha to work in the busy hospital there, but still found the time to
sweep one of the pharmacists away from the dispensary, and they were
married.
Two years ago he also began part-time work at Bangkok
Pattaya Hospital, becoming a full time specialist here 12 months ago,
where he has a full work-load, keeping him busy most days. However, he
still goes to Bangkok every Saturday to continue his own medical
(surgical) training, where he is doing work with joint replacement
surgery. Remaining abreast of all the new trends is a very time-consuming
exercise. He also admits that he enjoys that branch of orthopaedics, along
with hand surgery.
I asked him if he would be pushing his daughter towards
a career in medicine, but he denied this. “My mother did not force me
(into medicine), but I will be different with my daughter. Right now
she’s only two years old, but maybe she should be an actress or a
model!”
In the future, he would like to return to the hallowed halls of
academia as a tutor himself, but his current priority is to provide for
his family. He also believes that to be a successful tutor, a doctor needs
to be older, to have enough experience to pass it on to the next
generation.
