Norman Ng, Director of Patient Advocacy and Public Affairs at Healthcare Thinkers, shared Janet Wong’s, Dean and Professor, School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Hong Kong Metropolitan University, on LinkedIn, adding:
“Living Books, Living Empathy – Our Heartfelt Gratitude to Hong Kong Metropolitan University
A sincere note of gratitude to Hong Kong Metropolitan University for inviting my wife Daisy and me to be part of the university’s meaningful Living Books session, where we shared our firsthand patient and family caregiver journey with your outstanding nursing students.
I was deeply inspired by Professor Janet Wong ‘s post introducing the Living Books concept. This distinctive initiative turns real-life individuals into “living books”, letting students learn empathy and human-centred care through authentic personal stories, rather than only textbook theories. We fully believe empathy is the soul of nursing, and this activity perfectly plants that vital value in our future nurses.
As a stage four lung cancer survivor, I navigated years of treatments and mental hurdles. Daisy, as my primary caregiver, silently endured relentless emotional stress, managed daily medical care and maintained family stability throughout my battle with cancer. During our roundtable sharing, we laid bare the vulnerable, overlooked struggles of cancer patients and family carers, as well as our heartfelt expectations for nursing communication and bedside care.
We were genuinely moved by how attentively the nursing students listened and their thoughtful, in-depth questions. Their sincerity and willingness to understand patients’ inner worlds are incredibly encouraging. It was never a one-sided speech for us; it was a precious two-way dialogue bridging patient lived experience and nursing education.
Our deepest thanks go to the faculty and administrative team who curated this safe, respectful sharing environment. It has been our immense honour to contribute patient and caregiver perspectives to nurture Hong Kong’s upcoming nursing workforce. We eagerly anticipate more collaborations with HKMU to bring patient voices into professional healthcare education.”
Quoting Janet Wong’s post:
“Our LivingBooks project invites patients to share their stories directly with nursing and physiotherapy students. Students ask their own questions and hear, firsthand, about patients’ diagnosis journey, daily struggles, fears, and the small moments of hope that kept them going.
Textbooks can teach knowledge. Only real stories build empathy. That’s the heart of this initiative of helping our future healthcare professionals see the hashtag#person, not just the patient.
Thanks to Norman Ng and Daisy for being our sharers. Your openness and courage gave our students an unforgettable lesson in empathy.”
Other articles featuring Norman Ng on OncoDaily.
