Prosthetics and Orthotics department’s ins and outs by BME alumni Mr. Webber Choi

Mr. Webber Choi has graduated from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in 2009. Currently, he is working in the position of team leader of the P&O Department in a public institution. In his interview, Mr. Webber Choi shared his first job experience, memories from PolyU, as well as, what motivated him to choose the path of P&O specialist.

Can you describe yourself as a student when you were studying in university? Were you passionate about the P&O field at that time?

Every time I imagine that time again, I realize that it was such a happy period. I was very glad to join the Biomedical Engineering Students Association I don't know whether the name changed now. I held the position of publication secretary there.  It was exciting to be a representative of the BME SS and to join such activity in PolyU.

In his interview, Mr. Webber Choi shared his first job experience, memories from PolyU, as well as, what motivated him to choose the path of P&O specialist.

Can you describe yourself as a student when you were studying in university? Were you passionate about the P&O field at that time?

At that time I wouldn’t call myself very smart. But I loved what I learned in PolyU and now can apply that knowledge in the workplace. Of course, I had a passion for the P&O field, especially in fabrication. I used to like making toys, hair styling and creating other things using my hands. Before I got admitted to PolyU I didn't know my final result of the examination, thus I was not sure whether I can be a university student. So, I was thinking if I will not be able to go to the university, I might join a salon to be a hairstylist. I just wanted to make something with my hands, because it is my interest. Now I can do fabrication and can help the people in the medical field at the same time. It's so good to combine them together.

What is the P&O field like in real life? And can you tell us more about the field and your duties?

About the field

Generally speaking, P&O is based on biomedical engineering/biomechanical knowledge and involves decision making, designing, and fabrication of the external device to allow the patients to restore their function and to provide protection to certain body parts.

In Hong Kong, to my best knowledge, most of the graduates work in the public hospital. However, some of them may also find jobs in private clinics and hospitals or can become the salesmen for the P&O services. Generally, most of them provide the frontline clinical service.

*frontline refers to prosthetics and orthotics service to the patient

Duties of Mr. Webber Choi

Currently, I'm a team leader in the department of P&O. Apart from providing the frontline service, I also do some administrative work, for example, managing staff, stock, and materials here. Also, one of my duties is to solve ad hoc problems, because every day we have some issues rising up and I have to make sure that the operation of the department is smooth.

Limitation for the fabrication

In real life, different clinics and departments have their own limitations in working tools and machines, which disturb our decisions about what we can fabricate. Therefore, in real life, it is more practical. The design is based on the same biomechanical engineering knowledge. But fabrication in real life is constricted by the machine and the working tool’s limitations. So we need to consider them when designing the orthoses and prosthesis for the patient.

If you could go back in time, would you attend university again?

100% - yes, of course. PolyU is so good. I think it really equipped us with practical skills needed for the workplace in the future. Also, it maintains good relationships with the graduates. And the school life in PolyU was so colorful for me. I've made a lot of friends there with whom we still keep in contact. So, of course, I would attend again, and if possible, I would want to go back to university now.

Do you still remember the biggest transitional issue you encountered when you entered college?

During secondary school, I was studying in my mother tongue, in Cantonese, which is why the first semester in university was a little bit difficult for me due to the English study environment. PolyU is very supportive in these terms. They give you several courses to train your English and the classmates were also so helpful. After the first semester, my English became better and I could enjoy studying.

The second issue is that in secondary school we used to have cramming education, it is when the teacher gives you questions and answers which you have to memorize. But in the university mainly you have to do projects. Moreover, there is no exact correct answer, you just have to create something or find the best possible answer. These are the two big transitional issues from secondary school to university.

Could you, please, share how you decided to go to P&O stream and chose exactly this field?

Actually, it was not planned. When I graduated from school I knew very little about Biomedical Engineering and started to know more only during my freshman year. Thus in the first year, Dr. M.S. Wong conducted an introduction session about P&O. In addition, PolyU tried their best to provide us with field-related information by conducting career talks for example.

Also in my first year, we had some short attachments for around five days in the public hospital. I remember there was one case - one of my supervisor’s kids-patients could not walk. Later my supervisor prescribed him a pair of the ankle foot orthoses. I remember how happy the kid was when he tried those ankle foot orthoses on, and finally was able to walk fast. At that moment I realized that the job in the P&O field is very meaningful. I can do my interest – fabrication and also earn the money. Eventually, by the end of the first year, I finally decided to go to P&O stream. Luckily, it was a perfect path for me.

Actually, I am lucky to be a team leader and I’m happy about it. As a frontline staff member who is only doing clinical work, sometimes I wanted changes, for example, “Can we purchase a device for a better orthoses fabrication?” or “Can we use a 3D printer for the fabrication of orthoses?”. Some frontline staff did not agree with me, but some of them wanted to bring changes too. And being a team leader, now I can try to buy or try to approach the advanced knowledge and the additional equipment.  Therefore, as a team leader, I can try to make the department's operation go smoother.

For me, patients and their needs are my top priority, which is why I always try to have a little chat with all of my patients to see what kind of problem they have and what results they are expecting in the future. I am successful because I take my job seriously and I am very responsible. I usually make changes in our departmental work because I want it to operate better and more efficiently. My boss knows that and therefore he trusts and lets me be a team leader of our department.

Do you feel that PolyU prepared you for the workforce and the real-world challenges?

Yes, I fully agree with that. Firstly, it is because PolyU BME has a lot of good connections with different BME and P&O related companies and organizations. During the summer we always had different attachments and placements in the hospital. At that time, it was challenging to apply all the knowledge we learned in the university into real-life settings. I used to discuss all the problems and struggles I had during these practices in the hospital with my university professors. I also would like to mention that PolyU BME is well-equipped with all the devices and tools so that each student can get enough practice and knowledge needed in the workplace.

Even though we had a lot of practice on mannequin patient models, it is not the same as the real-life settings practice. When you work with real patients, you have to treat not only the medical issue but also know how to show psychological and mental support to the patient.

“ - When you work with real patients, you have to treat not only the medical issue but also know how to show psychological and mental support to the patient.”

What was the most challenging in building your career as a P&O student?

I think it's the variation of the technical skill and knowledge required in the workplace. I remember the first time when I started working in a hospital, my supervisor and I had different points of view when it came to technical skills, many things that I learned in PolyU did not meet his expectations. So I think the most challenging part was to find out which technical skill is more suitable.

As freshly graduated students we don't have a lot of knowledge and experience to spot when our supervisor is right or wrong about certain things, so we have to try by ourselves and sometimes learn from our mistakes to understand what works for us.

What advice would you give to current biomedical engineering students?

One main piece of advice is, communicate, discuss and talk more with your professor. Especially in PolyU, all the professors are nice, they love to discuss things with you. When I was in university, I was not close to my professors and regret it now. I think I could discuss more with Dr. M.S. Wong on the design of prostheses and orthoses for example.

The BME Editorial Board expresses its gratitude to Mr. Webber Choi for sharing his career stories and experience, intended to let the students explore various aspects of P&O field and see how knowledge and skills gained in university may be applied in the future career.

Written by Meruyert AMANGELDY (Year 3 -Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biomedical Engineering) and Aliya TUMANBAYEVA (Year 3 -Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biomedical Engineering)