Alice Leung

Volunteers connect, act and give back

Alice particularly loves to chat with patients. She speaks English, Cantonese and conversational Mandarin. “Some of them love sharing their life experience, which can be a very lovely connection. Sometimes you are there at the right time when they just need someone to talk to. Hospitals can be very stressful environments.”

Alice’s favourite volunteer role is participating in the simulated patient program for medical students’ training assessments. “You’re told a scenario or background information of a particular patient, then you memorise your script and act it out repeatedly for each student every 15 minutes over several hours. You get really good at it,” she says, laughing. “Later we’ll become award-winning actors!”

She loves being part of a like-minded volunteer community. “Giving back, particularly in the hospital environment, we can make a difference in the lives of our patients and their families and contribute to the future of medical education,” Alice says. “We all have been a patient before and we know the difference that a little care and compassion can make.”