Professor Ching Siew Mooi

Department of Family medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Universiti Putra, Malaysia

ISH Words of Wisdom

I always dreamed of being an expert in the field of hypertension research, but at the same time I was hesitant, as I thought the topics in hypertension research were already well known. Therefore, it is difficult to find new ideas in this research field. However, we will definitely win, as long as we don’t give up.

I ended up joining the Academic of Family Physician in Malaysia, as a research mentor for their continuing education program in family medicine. We started a research project on the prevalence of probable obstructive sleep apnoea and related factors in patients with hypertension. The students began drafting the proposal, applying for the ethical approval, collecting data, writing down the results, and the discussion.

The teams have faced challenges during the pandemic. Firstly, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not been able to meet in person, but we have solved the problem through regular online meetings. As family doctors, not only do we have a duty to care for patients in a busy clinic, but we also have to continue to do research while in the fight against the pandemic. Even if we had difficulties including the patients at the beginning of the study, we managed it in the end, because the patients trusted us, and were willing to take part in the study despite the pandemic.

At the end of the research project, we were all happy, and I also encouraged the group leader to present the results during the recent Korean Society of Hypertension Conference and they won the awards. I was also invited to speak on this topic at the recent Asia Pacific Hypertension Congress in India.

In summary, my words of wisdom are “If you have made no effort, your dreams will be nothing but pure fantasy. Effort and hard work build the bridge that connects your dreams to reality. Those who keep trying are filled with hope. And hope, in turn, comes from constant efforts. Embrace your dreams in research and go as far as it can take you.’’