Infectious Disease Expert Warns New Students to Avoid Relying on AI for Answers

Professor Yuen Kwok Yung (front row, third from left) stands with students at a book signing after his lecture

From recommending an early bedtime to avoiding outsourcing problem-solving to a chatbot, infectious disease expert Professor Yuen Kwok Yung delivered a wealth of advice to new medical students in a special lecture.

Speaking to first-year medical students, Professor Yuen, Henry Fok Professor in Infectious Diseases and Chair of Infectious Diseases, summarised the traits he has observed in successful students.

Professor Yuen suggested a few simple lifestyle habits to help medical students achieve optimum performance. He recommends going to sleep at 10pm, exercising at 6am, such as a brisk walk or jog, a short five-minute shower and dressing to look and feel your best.

Professor Yuen describes his routine to new medical students

These habits, which he maintains until this day, have ensured he is in peak condition to face a doctor’s daily challenges.

“People say that we wear ties every day because we want to respect the patient. That is not the only reason, when you tie up your tie before the mirror, you look at yourself, are you in the best state? Because the patient’s life depends on you,” he said. “Always [be] in the top state of my mind and physique so that you won’t miss a thing.”

Additionally, the clinician-scientist suggests avoiding strong air conditioning, eating fresh food over junk food, being punctual and attentive for lectures, and taking sick leave when unwell.

Professor Yuen graduated from the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme at HKUMed in 1981. His background as a doctor is unusual, having trained in surgery, where he spent five years, followed by training as a physician and in microbiology, which he ultimately chose for his career.

In 2003, he played a key role in the discovery of the agent behind severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which killed 286 people.

Professor Yuen shared details of his time at medical school and what he learnt from his classmates

The lecture included a book signing for Professor Yuen’s memoir, My Life in Medicine: a Hong Kong Journey, that was recently released in Chinese.

The microbiologist encouraged students to attend lectures as it is too easy to lose focus when watching recordings at home. Attending lectures is also an important opportunity to meet and interact with classmates, which in turn will help them learn how to connect with patients, he explained.

After attending lectures, he drilled the importance of synthesising the new information, drawing your own diagrams and understanding each new word.

“You must be able to use the simplest language to describe every term and topic in your own words so that you can teach anyone, including your parents or your brothers or sisters in the simplest terms,” he said. “If you can make your brother who is in I-banking understand the anatomy of the heart, you must have understood the anatomy of the heart yourself.”

Professor Yuen (right) with a student after signing his book

It is vital for students to not only fall in love with science and medicine but also to expand their intellectual capacity, Professor Yuen said. This allows them to connect the basic science with the clinical application, as well as ensuring they can hold the information in their heads.

“When the patient is lying in the accident and emergency department before you in shock, how can you have the time to check the chatbot, AI, Google? You can’t do that, you immediately have to attend to the patient,” he said.

Professor Yuen said his natural curiosity has helped him hugely in his career. He described how he often silently diagnoses the people he meets, from famous singers who show signs of recent thyroid surgery to students with apparent anaemia.

Professor Yuen spoke fondly of his classmates, recounting how importent they were in helping him learn

He encouraged students to first learn what is normal for the human body before learning to diagnose problems, starting by assessing their own bodies.

“When I was learning medicine, I ran around and measured my pulse and [blood pressure]… and I checked my own temperature,” he said. “If you’re not interested in yourself, how can you be interested in your patients?”

Pointing to the breakthroughs made by their predecessors at HKUMed, such as advances in live donor liver transplantation, Professor Yuen said this legacy served as a guide for current students.

“When you know that you’re inheriting a great tradition, you are able to make a breakthrough, just like your predecessors,” he said.

In his closing remarks, Professor Yuen strongly warned against pride in the medical field. To avoid this, the future doctors should “admit mistakes openly and sincerely” and not place the blame on chatbots.