Two Sides of the Same Passion.
They both received the same calling in life – convergent inclinations to save lives through medicine, but that’s also where their similarities end. Meet Drs. Kenny and Claudine Pang, siblings who grew up with the same ambition, but chose divergent specialty vocations.
Being poles apart, yet in some ways so alike, they each also personify the duality of Piaget’s unrivalled inventiveness, duality, beauty and elegance.
What inspires someone to be a healer, to want to save lives? One might say empathy, compassion and the pursuit of excellent care and knowledge through constant, conscientious research and study.
But these likely only scratch the surface of what motivates individuals to become doctors. Surely a myriad of reasons and the right personality facets need to come together to form this group of very special individuals.
Certainly multi-faceted, yet they have to be precisely the right qualities – innovation, absolute refinement, brilliance and the natural audacity to reinterpret knowledge, so as to re-define new standards, processes and the status quo – all of which are also apt reflections of Piaget’s exceptional horological benchmarks.
Light of the world
Dr. Claudine Pang, while motivated altruistically to pursue excellence in medicine, has taken strides in quite a different direction. The sunny and effervescent mother of two has chosen to be ‘the light of the world’. As Consultant Ophthalmologist, she restores sight to her patients, which she sees as a direct way of making a tangible difference in their lives.
“I want what I do to make a positive difference in people’s lives. I feel that being a medical doctor would be the most direct way to help others and to make a real improvement in the quality of their lives. More so in the field of ophthalmology, where improvements in sight can be appreciated very immediately. Most of my patients, who come to me with vision loss from cataracts or eye bleeding, can get their sight restored after a sight-saving eye surgery,” chimes the doctor with a heart for the less fortunate.
While Dr. Claudine Pang finds fulfillment in bringing joy to people through her medical specialty, her pro bono patients have a special place in her heart. “From a young age, I was always interested in volunteer work. I would spend time volunteering in homes for the deaf and blind, elderly nursing homes, centres for the disabled and underprivileged children’s homes. It’s very meaningful to be able to touch other people through our kindness, and in return, I’m often touched by their sincerity, gratitude and simplicity in virtues,” she shares.
Dr. Pang is also well recognised for her ongoing humanitarian efforts abroad. During these trips, she gives medical eye screening and performs cataract surgery for the elderly in rural villages around the world. Dr. Pang also believes resolutely that giving back to community should start from a young age. She is an ardent advocate of family mission trips, and has brought her 2 young children to help underprivileged people in under-developed countries.
This life-affirming and dedicated surgeon remembers one of her most poignant expeditions. “It was to Colombo, Sri Lanka, where in addition to medical eye screening, I was able to perform much-needed cataract surgery for the elderly villagers. This enabled many of them who were blind to see again. It was very rewarding for me to see the villagers so touched and grateful for our help; so I vowed to continue doing such humanitarian trips and to involve my family and my team. Since then, I have taken my family and work team to Cambodia three times in the last year to give aid to the villagers and children there. We provided eye screening, eye drops, spectacles and sunglasses to the villagers, who have no access to good medical care. This year, I will be taking my family to Nepal and my work team to Indonesia to do the same.”
This year, Dr. Pang was awarded the Singapore Women’s Weekly Great Women of Our Time 2019 – Spirited Woman Award. “This was for my initiative in making eye care more accessible to the general public, as well as to underprivileged societies. I created a free mobile app, which allows users to perform simple self-assessment checks and increase awareness of their eye health. This mobile app is also useful for conducting mobile eye screenings for people who have no access to eye care. I intend to continue to build on this initiative and make mobile eye care accessible to underprivileged communities in Singapore,” says Dr. Pang, whose voracious appetite for learning is the stuff of legend: she spent almost 2 years with the Vitreous-Retina-Macula Consultants of New York, Manhattan Eye Ear and Throat Hospital, working on a Medical Retina Fellowship. Following that, she spent a year in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia, Canada, as the first female in the world to be awarded the Surgical Vitreoretinal Fellowship. Her most recent foray was in London, at the renowned Moorfields Eye Hospital, working on Retinal Electrophysiology.
To Dr. Claudine Pang, a home baker, marathoner, Pilates, and all-round fitness enthusiast, beauty is certainly more than skin deep; it is in fact life-giving. Her appetite for life and fervor for helping the needy shines as brilliantly as her drive to do the best for them medically. She is the very definition of what she describes as grace and beauty: “One who exudes great positivity in life, and also imparts an emotionally and spiritually uplifting effect on others through the way she lives her life.”
Artwork by Curatedition, all rights reserved.
Related link:
Pursuit of Innovation: Dr Kenny Pang
