Bonnie Fong joined the Division of Clinical Biochemistry at Queen Mary Hospital (QMH) as a Medical Laboratory Technician II soon after she graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1988. She was promoted to her present rank of Scientific Officer (Medical) in 2005.

Apart from working hard on her job, Ms Fong has obtained a number of higher professional qualifications over the years. These include Membership and Fellowship (with commendation) of the Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists, and a Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences. She has also been conferred Accredited Clinical Biochemist.

Putting what she has learned into practice, Ms Fong has developed more than 20 new chromatography-based clinical biochemistry tests, some of them are unique to QMH and their details have been published in international clinical and scientific journals. She also actively participates in seminars, workshops and conferences, both locally and internationally, in order to acquire new knowledge and exchange skills with others in her field.

Ms Fong tells HASLink that the Outstanding Staff Award is a great honour she wishes to share with all her colleagues and superiors. "They have given me a lot of guidance, encouragement and support during my studies on the campus and my work in the hospital. My colleagues in the laboratory have also been keen to teach me new things. I have learned so much from all of them! In addition, my supervisor, Dr Sidney Tam, has given me many opportunities and inspirations, taught me new clinical knowledge, and encouraged me to further my studies." Ms Fong adds that her colleagues work together as one team, and they help one another a great deal. It is an excellent example of strong team spirit.

Unlike doctors and nurses, as a Scientific Officer Ms Fong does not interact face-to-face with patients. Yet, she is empathetic towards them, and she cares a lot about them. For example, certain diagnostic tests are only conducted in foreign countries, so patients have no choice but to send samples abroad. Besides costing a lot of money, this takes quite a long time and the integrity of specimen jeopardised during the long delivery. Ms Fong's goal is to continue developing new tests in order to help patients here in Hong Kong.

She adds that she tries to devote time to sharing her expertise with her juniors and to training them on a regular basis. Thus, they are able to acquire new knowledge and foster a greater sense of belonging to the hospital. In her view, continuous learning and exchange of experience are definitely the best ways to enhance laboratory test services.

	Ms Fong thanks her colleagues in the Division of Clinical Biochemistry, especially her supervisor Dr Sidney Tam (second from right, front row), for their willingness to teach her new medical knowledge and share their experience. She has learnt a lot from them.