Registration Link: HKUMed Undergraduate Students only
MH Conversations and Connections Series – Microcredential Trial Workshop
Beyond the Grief: Coping with Dying and Loss
Date: 9 December 2025 (Tue)
Time: 6:00-8:00 pm
Venue: 4/F, HKUMed Academic Building, 3 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam
Target: All HKUMed students are welcome.
Registration Link: HKUMed Undergraduate Students only
In the wake of recent community tragedies, the emotional weight of medical and healthcare practice is more palpable than ever. This two-hour seminar invites students to pause and cultivate essential skills for navigating the profound impact of death and loss. Through guided reflection and peer sharing, participants will explore the concepts of vicarious trauma and moral distress often encountered in high-stakes care, whilst gaining an understanding of the importance of their own well-being in healthcare practice.
The session introduces practical strategies for self-compassion, helping future healthcare practitioners process grief without detaching from their humanity. We will discuss how to build professional resilience not by hardening oneself, but by acknowledging vulnerability and supporting colleagues. This seminar offers a safe, supportive environment to normalize the emotional challenges of healthcare, ensuring students are equipped to care for themselves as deeply as they care for their patients.
- In light of recent tragic events in our community, this educational session has been adapted to address the urgent clinical and emotional needs arising from sudden, traumatic loss. This seminar aims to provide a safe, reflective space for medical and healthcare students to explore the complexities of care during times of crisis and to foster a community of practice grounded in empathy.
- This seminar is not intended as specific counselling or therapy for those experiencing significant emotional distress. Students in need are strongly encouraged to seek help from the Student Wellness Team or other student support bodies.
Facilitators:
Dr Fan Ning
Part-time consultant, Yan Chai Hospital
Chairman, Forget Thee Not
Prof Emmanuel Cheung
Clinical Assistant Professor of Practice, Critical Care Medicine Unit, SClinMed, HKUMed
Honorary Specialist, Adult Intensive Care Unit, Queen Mary Hospital
Dr Pauline Luk
Lecturer
Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit, SClinMed, HKUMed
Biography of facilitators:
Dr Fan Ning
Dr Fan Ning is part-time consultant of Surgical Department, Yan Chai Hospital. He started to think about meaning of a doctor’s job when he failed to resuscitate a 40 years old man during internship. He started to walk out of operation theatre to get involved in End-of-Life (EOL) job when he witnessed the poor support of families facing death and dying of patients in surgical ward, when a lot of terminal patients could not received palliative care or end of life support in acute ward setting. He set up Forget Thee Not in 2013, a NGO serving public for providing a holistic EOL support in community, and actively advocate for system change to enhance quality of death and dying in Hong Kong. Recently, Dr Fan had proactively work on issue of ‘Public Mortuary Charge’ as well as after-death support on ‘Tai Po Fire’.
Prof Emmanuel Cheung
Prof Emmanuel Cheung is an intensive care physician with a special interest in medical ethics and end-of-life care. His current appointments include Clinical Assistant Professor of Practice at HKUMed, Honorary Specialist at Queen Mary Hospital, and Research Fellow at the HKU Centre for Medical Ethics and Law. After completing his specialist training in intensive care medicine, he obtained a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in medical law and ethics from the University of Edinburgh. A passionate advocate for a humanistic approach to clinical care, his research focuses on post-intensive care syndrome and geriatric critical care. He is also dedicated to medical ethics and humanities education for HKUMed MBBS students, and actively collaborates with them to develop new teaching and learning opportunities in bioethics.
Dr Pauline Luk
Dr Pauline Luk is a Lecturer in the Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit, with personal experience as a lay caregiver who witnessed her late father’s passing at home due to Parkinson’s disease. She is dedicated to enriching students’ learning through immersive educational methods. Dr Luk advocates for a holistic approach to health and emphasizes the importance of effective patient-doctor communication, believing these elements are vital for the well-being of patients, their families, and healthcare professionals. Drawing from her caregiving journey during her father’s final three months, she uses reflective narrative to examine how the process of dying can bring profound emotional and psychological suffering to both patients and family caregivers.
Welcome to join us!
Enquiry: Please contact Mr Edison Cheng (mehu@hku.hk).