The Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists

2021 Logo marks the new era for the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists

The new logo has thoughtfully blended together the past, present and future of the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists.

On a literal interpretation – the “C” of HKCA is designed to represent traditionally one of the most important tenets of anaesthesia – that is providing oxygen and ventilation (depicted as  a “face mask”) – and that is what the patient sees looking up from the operating theatre table before they fall asleep under general anesthesia. As anaesthesiologists, we are patients’ advocate within the operating theatre under anaesthesia – taking in the patient’s viewpoint and perspective also signifies our empathy – an essential attribute.

As our college has grown – the empathy for patients indeed, has extended beyond the operating theatre – as fellowships of pain medicine and intensive care play focal roles in enhancing the professional image of the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists.

The multi-colored hexagonal shape has also multiple layered meanings to it. A literal interpretation would be the operating theatre lights which shine upon the patient during an operation, which signifies that the patient is, in fact, in the centre of our perioperative care.

Each corner of the hexagon also signifies the 6 professional attributes of a specialist in Anaesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Intensive Care Medicine – Professional, Communicator, Collaborator, Leader, Health Advocate, Scholar – qualities that our college takes pride in our fellows and members.Moreover, each colored dot in the hexagon represents different members of the perioperative team during a patient’s perioperative journey – including surgeons, physicians, nurses, allied health members – with Anaesthesiologists (the clear central dot) playing a central role in the perioperative care of the patient.

In the new era of Anaesthesia, our college is moving in the direction of taking a leadership role in collaboration with other professional team members to enhance the perioperative journey of all patients. Yet, the longstanding merits of maintaining patient safety, as well as training and education to develop highly professional fellows in Anaesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Intensive Care Medicine, all remain core foundations of our college.

The Badge of the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists

The Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists (HKCA) was incorporated on 26th September 1989 and the design of the badge of the HKCA was finalised shortly before that.

The shield design follows the Western heraldic tradition but with neither a crest nor mantling to reflect a different heritage.

The basic shape is that of an inverted horse shoe with the name of the College around the badge in English. The motto of the College is “Safety in Vigilance” which is translated into Chinese as “警覺保安全”. The Chinese version of the motto is included in the shield along the bottom edge of the badge. The use of both English and Chinese in the badge demonstrates the mixed heritage of the College and to allow easy international recognition since Hong Kong has good professional links with the anaesthetic communities in many countries around the world.

In the centre of the badge is a four-legged dragon. The dragon has been a symbol of the Chinese race since historical times. This dragon embraces a poppy branch with a poppy head at the top. Opium is extracted from the juice of the unripe head of the opium poppy. This poppy symbolises the role of narcotics, starting with opium and then its derivatives and synthetic analogues, as an important part of the armamentarium of an anaesthesiologist in his clinical practice – in pain management before, during and after surgical procedures as well as for painful conditions.

The red colour symbolises well-oxygenated blood and the white (and black) is from the British Standard colour code for medical oxygen cylinders. These colours represent a well looked after patient for whom vigilance is required at every point of care.

125 Years of Anaesthesia in Hong Kong

A commemorative book “125 Years of Anaesthesia in Hong Kong – Past, Present and Future” was published in 2014 to mark the silver jubilee of the HKCA and diamond jubilee of the Society of Anaesthetists of Hong Kong (SAHK).