Hong Kong Medical Student’s Volunteer Work Shapes His Approach to Medicine

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: medical student draws from experience of volunteer work

Years of volunteering with elderly people and disadvantaged communities have shaped University of Hong Kong undergraduate Alfred Lam’s approach to medicine. The experience has taught him to look beyond symptoms and understand the people he may one day treat.

Finalist in youth category

Lam is a finalist in the youth category of this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards. The awards recognise the city’s unsung heroes and organisations whose work might otherwise escape public attention. They are co-organised by Sino Group and the South China Morning Post. Lam was nominated by the NGO HandsOn Hong Kong.

His involvement with volunteering became more active when he was in secondary school. He joined HandsOn programmes that included bread collection, meal distribution and activities for elderly people. Much of his time was spent with older people living alone or experiencing dementia.

Volunteering’s influence on medicine

The work gave Lam sustained experience serving people from elderly and disadvantaged communities. That experience has informed his understanding of medicine, encouraging him to see beyond symptoms and consider the people he may one day treat.

His volunteering through HandsOn also included direct participation in community activities, from collecting bread and distributing meals to spending time with older people. These experiences form the background to his nomination as a youth-category finalist in awards that highlight work that might otherwise remain unnoticed.

Source: South China Morning Post