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Path：Facelifeing Doctors>Medical Skills & Kind Hearts |
As Mackay Memorial Hospital could no longer accommodate the patients coming for help, Dr. Noordhooff and Ching-wen Chang proposed for an expansion; however, the proposal was opposed by the Board of Directors. With Mackay Memorial Hospital not progressing further, and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital waving at them, both Dr. Noordhooff and Ching-wen Chang came to Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in 1974, hoping to extend their medical services.
Three generations of doctors (from left to right) at Chang Gung Craniofacial Center, researcher Polly, Dr. Noordhoff , Brosma, Yu-ruei Chen. (1996)
Dr. Noordhoff’s students put together their academic research findings into a CD as a gift. (1999)
Plastic Surgery Kingdom in Taiwan
Dr. Noordhooff served as the superintendent of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital for two years before he focused on the study of cosmetic surgery. The two years he was on the role of superintendent, he reformed the medial system and environment of Taiwan and nurtured many medical talents. The young doctors trained by Dr. Noordhooff published papers one after another in different symposiums and seminars, making the cosmetic surgery of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital a renowned practice in the international community. An increasing number of doctors from the US and Canada come to Taiwan to learn.
Dr. Noordhooff in the Eyes of His Students
In the eyes of his students, Dr. Noordhooff is a strict teacher yet always generous in giving complements. He would yell, “No, no, stupid!” at his students who could not learn the skills in the surgery room. However, he would smile at the teachers who have finally learned the skills by saying “good job.”
Dr. Noordhooff loved his students by imposing a stringently high standard. His student Kuo-ting Chen recalled on one occasion, he was switching his patient. Dr. Noordhooff walked by and asked him to redo it because it was way off. Kuo-ting Chen asked how big was the miss and Dr. Noordhooff said “0.5cm!” “Such a high standard our teacher asked of us!”
Dr. Noordhoff allowed his students to develop specialism and laid out the foundation for the success of the medical practice in Taiwan. (1978)
Insistence on Specialism
Dr. Noordhooff encouraged all doctors to develop their specialism and it should be something Taiwan did not have or urgently required by patients. He sometimes checked the schedules and crossed out the operations that other doctors would have done better. He would walk into the office of the doctors concerned and told them to allow other doctors to perform the operations. When any students returned to Taiwan, they could all become his own teacher because Dr. Noordhooff respected specialism. This respect made his students love him even more.
Establishment of Craniofacial Center
In 1987, Chang Gung Craniofacial Center was founded, as a clinic dedicated to the newborns with cleft lip and palate. The Center offers an integrated approach of medical services and professional assistance. Parents can share their burning questions and learn how to care take of these newborns.
A free medical service team in Matzu picked up medical supplies from a small boat. (1962)
Treating Patients as Relatives
Some parents would not send their children back, for fears that they could not afford the medical fees. In such instances, Dr. Noordhooff would ask his staff to call them up and told them not to worry about money because there was a social service fund in the hospital that could extend help to the poor. Sometimes, the medical fees were waived and the patients received money from the social service fund. He would not allow the patients to feel indebted to him, so tried his best to maintain their dignity by allowing them to believe that the money came from the social service fund.
International Fame
Receiving Maliniac Award, the most prestigious award in plastic surgery. (1994)
Maliniac Award is a international recognition of Dr. Noordhoff’s efforts. (1994)
In 1994, Dr. Noordhooff received Maliniac Award from the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. This prestigious award was given to an American for the first time since its inception in 1979. Interesting that it was awarded to an American who had lived in Taipei for three decades and speaks fluent Taiwanese.
Dr. Noordhooff believes that plastic surgery in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital owes its rapid development to the over 40 experts from medical centers around the world who have assisted the seed doctors sent out from Chang Gung. In his speech during the award ceremony, Dr. Noordhooff urged that it is important to assist the further training of the doctors and medical staff in developing countries and it should be the responsibility of all the global citizens. The team in Chang Gung is a best example. It has taken up a responsibility to return to the international society once it has established a solid foundation. He suggested that the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery should support the medical education programs in developing countries.
References :
Yu-fang Liang(2000).《Love, To Mend the Imperfectness: Dr. Noordhooff’s Forty Years in Taiwan》.Taipei City:Common Wealth .
Image Sources :
Yu-fang Liang(2000).《Love, To Mend the Imperfectness: Dr. Noordhooff’s Forty Years in Taiwan》.Taipei City:Common Wealth .
Noordhoff Craniofacial Foundation.
