About the Columns (2018)

Dr. David Wong started writing medical columns towards the end of 1995, ten years after he began practicing medicine in Summerside, Prince Edward Island. He saw many consultations from family physicians across the province. Not infrequently, parents have similar questions and concerns about their children. Dr. Wong recognized that it would be beneficial for parents and caretakers to have some knowledge of common childhood problems.

His first column “Ask Dr. Wong” appeared on December 1, 1995 in The Journal Pioneer, the local newspaper in Summerside. It dealt with the question of recurrent otitis media, a very common condition in young children. He continued to write this column once a week, but with his heavy workload and being on-call every second day, it was becoming very difficult to continue. The solution came in July of 1996, when the newspaper informed him that his column was too expensive for them. He was being paid minimally for his work, but it was still too much for a local newspaper.

After a few months of hiatus, Dr. Wong contacted The Guardian newspaper in Charlottetown. They were thrilled to host “Ask Dr Wong,” and agreed to publish it once a month, with the first column appearing on Jan 29, 1997. His columns have continued for over twenty years. There were a few times when he got too busy, and was not able to submit the columns on time.

The question in each column was the question asked by one or more parents at his work. He does change the details or scenarios to protect the privacy of his patients. Each column takes many hours of writing and rewriting to make sure that the general public can understand the information.

This website for Dr. Wong’s columns goes online in the summer of 2018. He will post future columns within a few days after publication by The Guardian. He also plans to put all previous columns that he has written on the website. It will take some time for him to go through each and every one of them to make sure about the accuracy of the content, especially because of changes in medical knowledge and technology in recent years. Any change in content will be indicated at the top of the column.

The columns are meant for information only; they are based on the most current medical information, as well as Dr Wong’s experience over several decades of practice, talking and listening to thousands of patients and their parents. They are not meant to be followed as prescription. Parents should consult with their physicians on any important health decisions of their children.

If you have questions for Dr. Wong, you can send them electronically to the website, or send by mail to Prince County Hospital, 65 Roy Boates Ave, Summerside, PE C1N 2A9. Please remember, Dr Wong will not answer them individually, he may incorporate your question into one of his future columns.

© 1996-2018 by Ask Dr. Wong. All rights reserved.