ike many of his counterparts, Dr Raymond Chan regards his profession as a vocation. As a Christian who has escaped from death once himself, he sees being a medical practitioner as a higher calling, rather than simply as a career.

Dr Chan has saved numerous lives. He almost lost his own on the highway on 2 June 1997, when his car collided head-on with another one that was coming from the opposite direction. The experience made him aware that his life was not in his own hands. From that moment onwards, he decided not to chase after fame, power and money, but instead to serve God wholeheartedly. When SARS broke out in 2003, he volunteered to work in a ward where patients with this disease were being treated. In a letter to Professor Lai Kar-neng, his Chief of Service, he wrote: "As a medical professional, I know I am being called upon to serve in both good times and bad."

The year 2006 was an extremely busy one for Dr Chan. He led a multidisciplinary team in developing the Acute Myocardial Infarction Clinical Pathway (AMI-CP). Their objective was to design a system for handling heart-attack patients admitted to Accident & Emergency (A&E) Departments specifically whether they should receive medication first or be sent immediately to an operating theatre for "ballooning".

No job is too difficult when team members work together with one heart and soul.

In 2007, Queen Mary Hospital's A&E Department became the first to adopt the new AMI-CP. This is now in its third stage, and the Hospital has already recorded an improvement in its overall mortality, length of stay and readmission rates. Dr Chan gives the credit for this to his colleagues and their dedication over the past few years. He also says that the joy he feels whenever he sees a "dead" person come back to life is indescribable.

Nevertheless, the team has had to pay a price for its success. Dr Chan has been on call every Sunday for the past year. He has also forfeited his compensation rights. His co-workers have adopted the same attitude. But Dr Chan feels that a man does not live for material things alone. He also firmly believes that all of us will be rewarded or punished, according to our deeds. In conclusion, he wishes to share a Biblical verse: "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve" (Jeremiah 17:10). These thoughts keep his team moving ahead.

Dr Chan is very grateful to his colleagues, whom he regards as his companions a the front line.