Registration Link: HKUMed Undergraduate Students only
MH Conversations and Connections Series – Microcredential Trial Workshop
Title: Beyond the Curtains: A Hands-On Learning Experience on Facing Dying Patients
Date: 27 January 2026 (Tue)
Time: 6:00-8:30 pm
Venue: 3/F, HKUMed Academic Building, 3 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam
Target: All HKUMed students are welcome. Registration is required
Quota: 20
Registration Link: HKUMed Undergraduate Students only
Join us for an immersive learning experience that offers a profound insight into the complexities of end-of-life care. Led by a surgical specialist, a critical care unit doctor, and an anatomical pathologist, this event explores real-world scenarios encountered in managing dying patients and supporting their families. Participants will engage in simulated environments, including a ward with a patient facing imminent demise and ongoing family discussions about treatment options, a semi-conscious patient in the final days of life with requests for ICU support, and a mortuary setting highlighting the emotional and procedural aspects following death. This interactive session aims to deepen understanding of the clinical, ethical, and emotional challenges faced by healthcare professionals during the dying process, fostering empathy and preparedness among students and healthcare providers alike.
Disclaimer: This immersive workshop includes a simulated dying process in a simulation ward and involves an eco-coffin with a “deceased.” If you’ve recently experienced the loss of a loved one, please consider whether you’re ready to participate. Alternative sessions will be available in the future.
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 Karen Yuen
Consultant Anatomical Pathologist,
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 Karen Yuen
Dr Karen Yuen is a Consultant Anatomical Pathologist at Queen Mary Hospital, with a special interest in lymphoid and endocrine diseases. She is a Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Pathologists and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. Her experience extends to the area of mortuary management, where she has overseen daily operations and accreditation, ensuring processes are handled with the utmost care. She constantly reflects upon the importance of life and the journey to death, in her daily work, as well as through appreciating theatrical productions and Japanese anime.
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).