Recently, we had a chat with an old friend who was once a student of CHENGHEI Education and has now been practicing in Hong Kong for one and a half years.
When I recall the time when he first reached out to us, there was a profound sense of professional burnout emanating from his words. At that time, he was employed at a large dental institution in the mainland, where he faced long queues of patients every day, and the pace of diagnosis and treatment was as fast as piecework on an assembly line. Although his income was decent in the local area, the career ceiling that allowed him to see his life status decades ahead at a glance, coupled with the increasing pressure of performance indicators, plunged him into extreme mental exhaustion.
He told us that he was anxious every day when he woke up. People around him advised him to settle down since he already had a stable salary. But he always felt unwilling to give up, unwilling to let his pursuit of medicine be eroded in such a stagnant environment during his prime years.
From the mainland to Hong Kong, it is a reshaping that breaks out of the comfort zone
Deciding to pursue the Hong Kong dental licensing examination, which is also known as the Hong Kong Dental Licensing Examination, was the most painful yet most correct decision of his career.
As a training institution that has accompanied him throughout his journey, we have witnessed firsthand the days he spent preparing for the exam, a process that was almost like shedding a layer of skin. Not only did he have to pick up medical textbooks written entirely in English again, but he also had to precisely meet the stringent clinical standards set by the Dental Council of Hong Kong. At that time, many people did not understand why he would give up the stability of the mainland to venture into a completely unknown market. But when he actually obtained his practicing qualification and landed in Hong Kong, he realized that what he was pursuing was not just a springboard for salary increase, but also a professional platform that could make him feel excited again.
Entering a new market inevitably involves a period of pain. When he first started his career, the biggest challenge he faced was not clinical operation, but the integration of language and culture. Switching from a Mandarin-speaking environment to a diagnostic and treatment mode intertwined with Cantonese and English, the professional frustration brought by poor communication was very real. He still remembers the first three months, when every time he explained a complex periodontal surgery plan, he felt uneasy as he repeatedly weighed the words in his mind.
In precision diagnosis and treatment, we should regain the original intention of medicine
Fortunately, the medical environment in Hong Kong is highly inclusive and professional. There is no unnecessary internal friction here, and all discussions revolve around clinical outcomes. His colleagues come from diverse countries and backgrounds, and this diversity makes communication pure. He has also subtly become accustomed to chatting with nurses in Cantonese about daily matters and discussing complex implant cases with colleagues in the department in English.
Looking back now, the contrast in job content had a profound impact on him.
In Hong Kong, doctors emphasize the concept of holistic diagnosis and treatment. They focus not just on treating a broken tooth, but on planning the patient’s oral health as a whole. The seniors in the clinic have extremely high requirements for the precision of every step, and there are no diagnostic and treatment projects done just to make up the bill. This high-density intellectual output and extreme control over details, although making the daily work hours longer, have also made his career growth curve steep again.
Here, there is no need to recommend unnecessary diagnostic and treatment items just to meet performance targets. This pure medical environment has allowed him to regain the professional dignity he felt when he first entered the medical field.
Redefinition of struggle and happiness
In his last year on the mainland, the source of his pain was that he couldn’t see the marginal benefits of his efforts. But in the past year and a half in Hong Kong, he truly felt the feedback of his efforts.
Although the pace is fast nowadays, leaving little time for slacking off, the sense of achievement is tangible whenever he completes a precise repair case and hears the sincere thanks from the patient. The workplace culture in Hong Kong also gives him a long-lost sense of balance. Despite the high work intensity during weekdays, he is rarely disturbed by unexpected work messages on weekends and holidays. This clear boundary actually gives him more motivation to embrace every working day.
For colleagues who are still struggling with career bottlenecks, this friend would like to say that changing your environment may indeed bring you a chance to restart. If you also feel that your current career path has reached a point where you can no longer advance, or if you are unwilling to let your professional skills fade away in the repetitive and trivial tasks, then this window in Hong Kong is worth pushing open with all your might.
In the year and a half he has been practicing medicine in Hong Kong, he has not only worked here but also regained his motivation and ambition as a dentist. The road ahead is still long, but at least now he is no longer anxious and is full of expectations. As a partner who has witnessed his growth along the way, CHENGHEI Education will continue to accompany more doctors with dreams, helping them to open the door to a broader world.