Kindness and compassion for others is at the heart of medicine. At HKUMed, it is cultivated, firstly, in our teaching and learning programmes. We continue to refine and reform our programmes, and introduce new ones, to meet the needs of students and society, especially with the growing influence of AI and other technologies, as well as new expectations from our profession and the community. To keep on top of these changes and ensure we do not lose sight of our commitment to People First, I have expanded several portfolios in the Deanery to put a greater focus on student wellness, enrichment, and partnership. I also want to ensure our teaching programmes remain globally excellent, so a new Assistant Dean for Pedagogy and Assessment has been appointed and a team earmarked to oversee the systematic adoption of simulation technologies in all our education programmes. Technology may evolve, but the core of medicine remains human. A longstanding anchor of this effort is our Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit, or MEHU, which has integrated and coordinated ethics and humanities teaching for our undergraduate medical students. Through MEHU, students are encouraged to reflect not only on what can be done medically, but what should be done humanely. One final-year MBBS student recently shared an encounter with an older patient suffering from end-stage liver cancer. Despite her condition, she spoke warmly of her grandchildren, hopes and daily joys, joked with nurses, and even asked after the student’s well-being. The student came away deeply moved by her resilience and positivity. Encounters like this remind us that patients are also our teachers. They teach our students about courage, dignity and hope – lessons that no textbook, and no technology, can fully provide. Alongside this humanistic foundation, the programmes themselves have also increasingly emphasised personal as well as professional development. This is helping us to attract students who are not only academically gifted, but committed in their hearts to medicine and health. For instance, the new Graduate Entry Track of the MBBS – a four-year programme for degree holders that builds on the strong foundation of our Second Chance Scheme – welcomed its inaugural cohort of outstanding students last September. These students opted for medicine after thoughtful consideration. One student, Nathan, is a Cambridge graduate in Natural Sciences, who had an offer to pursue a Master’s degree at Cambridge. He chose HKUMed instead because he had long wanted to do medicine and to return to Hong Kong to serve our population. Nathan’s qualities of persistence and unswerving commitment exemplify the values that we are cultivating here. Cultivating a Human Touch 3 STATE OF THE FACULTY ADDRESS 2026
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mzg4NDg0