RECOGNITION

Charlotte Chan receives the “Above and Beyond Award” from Professor Ian Holliday (Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)) at the 24^th Recognition Ceremony

BDS Student Received “Above and Beyond Award” from CEDARS

Miss Charlotte, Cheuk Kwan Chan, Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) Student Year 3 was honoured with the “Above and Beyond Award” from Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS) at the 24^th Recognition Ceremony held in Rayson Huang Theatre on 10 April 2021. The ceremony served to honour students who performed outstanding achievements and devoted in contributing to the society.

Dedication in Promoting Youth Mental Health

Being a Youth Summit & Youth Ambassador Coordinator and a Steering Committee member of the 2020 Hong Kong Mental Health Conference hosted by Mind Hong Kong, Miss Charlotte Chan is dedicated to organising events with the objective to promote resilience and to provide resources to assist young people, parents and teachers. As a young adult herself, Charlotte shared her experiences with participants during the conference. Moreover, she assisted in the launch of Coolminds, a youth mental health initiative jointly kicked off by KELY Support Group and Mind Hong Kong, a local mental health charity that aims to ensure everyone in Hong Kong living with a mental health problem has the recognition, support and respect they deserve.

Charlotte noticed that youth mental health was one of the major concerns in the community during her first university year. She cited that local youth suicide rate has increased more than double between 2014-2017, and a recent study found that over half of Hong Kong’s secondary schoolers showed symptoms of depression. “Half of people living with mental health issues show first signs before they turn 14 years old, and three quarters of mental health problems begin before one turns 24 years old. Hence targeting youth is the most effective way to prevent further and initial development of common mental health problems,” she said.

Alerted by the situation, she actively participates and contributes in the events and activities initiated by Mental Health Conference and Coolminds. Her kindness and dedication in improving youth’s mental condition and enhancing public’s awareness on mental health led her to the recipient of “Above and Beyond Award”. Being recognised, she would like to share the honour with the staff, volunteers, professionals, and researchers who made the conference possible. “I am just one of many young adults with an interest in mental health. I am extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity and support to act upon this important cause.”

Enjoy Volunteering amid Hectic Dental Studies

The curriculum of BDS is notorious for its packed schedule that lasts from 8:30am to 6:30pm, nevertheless, Charlotte did not find herself busier or more stressful with both studies and volunteering duties. On the contrary, she always felt energised and content. She said, “The volunteer work has been widening my perspective and giving me a greater sense of fulfilment.” She is grateful for the flexibility given by Mind Hong Kong and she appreciated the guidance and support provided to her when she needed them, “The advice was very useful when approaching more clinical topics in mental health as I lack formal training in psychology.” Hence, this beyond class role did not burden but enlightened her.

Dental Learning Complements Volunteer Work and Vice Versa

As a dental undergraduate student, Charlotte acknowledged that the self-directed learning of the programme is incredibly useful, the skills acquired such as navigating funding, event planning, report writing, and time management can all be applied in the mental health work. In addition, she has become a better listener and communicator with the clinical and patient care training.

At the same time, she has been gaining more exposure to individual mental health experiences from her involvement at Mind Hong Kong and has been observing how her colleagues with clinical psychology, psychiatry or counselling backgrounds help those in need. The learning has allowed her to have better patient management and communicate further with her peers on mental health topics.

Destigmatize Mental Health

Moving forward, apart from graduating from BDS, she aspires to destigmatize and to correct misconceptions on mental health. “I hope that more people will feel comfortable seeking help and reaching out for support, rather than falsely feel that it is a personal weakness or source of shame,” Charlotte stated. Staying humble despite the award presented, she wished to contribute further in this area and eventually find a way to combine it with dentistry as she gains more skills and experience.

To learn more about Charlotte Chan, please read the interview article of her by CEDARS: https://wp2.cedars.hku.hk/prize/2021/03/31/the-community-solution/

To know more about the 24^th Recognition Ceremony, please click: Recognition Ceremony | (hku.hk)

Charlotte Chan and Dr James Tsoi, Assistant Dean (Electives and Experiential Learning)

Charlotte Chan shared her experiences with participants at the HK Mental Health Conference 2020