After achieving his master’s in Dementia Studies from the University of Stirling, Kenny Chui Chi Man is changing perceptions of dementia in Hong Kong and promoting a holistic and person-centred culture of care. He worked as a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong for the past two years and is the winner of the Social Impact Award at the British Council Study UK Alumni Awards in Hong Kong 2016.
Kenny has designed a one-year programme related to dementia care at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The programme has helped to improve nurses’, social workers’ and therapists’ interventions with thousands of service users with dementia. Besides the culture and professional teaching from a UK university, Kenny credits his UK education with widening his scope in supporting people with dementia and integrating the learning into his PhD thesis. He explains, “I wish to change the language use and negative perception of people with dementia in Hong Kong. It is time for them to speak out”.
What did you enjoy most about studying and living in the UK?
Studying in the UK was not only about receiving a worldwide qualification but also meeting different friends and well-known scholars. The freedom of learning and intellectual conversations with classmates provided me with an excellent learning atmosphere. With the support of the professors I was able to explore my own way of learning and acquiring new knowledge.
I love sundown at the Edinburgh Castle, shopping in Glasgow, joining friends’ gatherings, students’ activities and fine dinners in the small town of Stirling. UK is fantastic and comfortable, except on rainy days. I miss the days in the UK.
Tell us more about dementia care study.
Let me give you an example:
Read and remember the following sentence:
“No ifs, ands, or buts”
Now cover the line and say it again……
You may not have any difficulty in performing this task, however, it will not be as easy if you are living with dementia. This task is one of the questions of the Mini-mental State Examination (Folstein, Folstein, & McHugh, 1975) in screening senior citizens with cognitive decline.
Dementia care requires very specific and professional knowledge within healthcare systems. In Hong Kong, there was a lack of tailor-made programme which focus on dementia care.
The programme offered at the University of Stirling focuses on a person-centred care approach for the care of people with dementia which attracted me a lot. I would like to understand more about dementia care and localise the medical-social integration for the care of people with dementia and the difference between Western and Chinese culture of dementia care.
What is your advice to Hong Kong students considering further study in the UK?
As the Chinese saying goes, “walking ten thousand miles of the world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls.” I very much enjoyed my study in Scotland. It is one of the milestones in my life and it has lead me to start a new journey for my career development. Dear fellow students, please do not hesitate to apply and experience UK higher education for yourself.
Reference
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E., & McHugh, P. R. (1975). “Mini-mental state”: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician.Journal of psychiatric research, 12(3), 189-198.
