By: Kendall Ho, MD, FRCPC
Proust questionnaire: Kendall Ho, MD
Issue: BCMJ,
vol. 55, No. 7, September 2013,
Page 354 Proust for Physicians
What profession might you have pursued, if not for medicine?
Food critic.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Writing skills, so I can write food columns and restaurant reviews well.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Raising our children with my wife.
Who are your heroes?
Billy Graham, who is authentic, dedicated, passionate, and faithful; Judge Judy, who has an uncanny ability to cut through deceits to uncover the truth of the cases; and Sir William Osler, an observant, inspiring teacher.
On what occasion do you lie?
When filling out surveys like this one.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
To desire what I already have.
What is your greatest fear?
Unknowingly giving the wrong therapy to a patient.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I like eating too much.
What characteristic do your favorite patients share?
The desire to help themselves get better.
Which living physician do you most admire?
Dr Bill Gunn, retired director of the disaster division of the World Health Organization.
What is your favorite activity?
Walking on a beautiful sunny day, and being able to think freely without any work or time pressure.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I like to imagine and think of possibilities.
Who are your favorite writers?
Gum Yung (Chinese kung fu novel writer), James Collins, and Mitch Albom.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“Of course.”
What do you most value in your colleagues?
Willingness to brainstorm and work together.
What technological medical advance do you most anticipate?
Personalized medicine linked with e-health to resolve the debate of “nature versus nurture.”
What is your greatest regret?
Not teaching my children Chinese when they were young.
How would you like to die?
Not knowing how, and then it happens.
What is your motto?
“To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8.
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