Promoting appreciation of the human ageing process: the experience of a “Campus Ageing Mix Project for University Students” (GIE- CAMPUS)’s implementation in a medical school

Abstract

With the increased exposure to frail and vulnerable older patients coupled with recent advances in anti-ageing and regenerative medicine, medical students may inadvertently develop the tendency to view ageing negatively. Age-related biases in medical students might include seeing ageing as a frustrating process of decline, deterioration, and decay. As part of a Geron-Infusion Education (GIE) initiative at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), the Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit (MEHU) of Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine and the Sau Po Centre on Ageing jointly piloted a mandatory workshop entitled “Diversity of Ageing” in Year 4 MBBS curriculum in the academic year 2019-2020. Through photography and guided discussion with “senior champions”, clinical-year medical students and healthy seniors jointly explored “what is ageing”. Ultimately, it was hoped that the workshop could improve student attitudes toward working with older adults and promote appreciation on the reciprocity of intergenerational exchange. Geron-Infusion Education (GIE) was an initiative jointly developed by The University of Hong Kong under “Campus Ageing Mix Project for University Students” (GIE- CAMPUS), and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University under “Infusion Active Ageing Education” project (GIE- IAAE), initiated and funded by ZeShan Foundation.