This month, we had the great opportunity to interview Dr. Patrick Chu about his experiences as a geriatrician and how his work with the elderly has changed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Chu works at both North York General Hospital and his community office, and he is here with us today to share his personal experiences and insights on dementia.
1. Tell us about yourself – who you are, what you do, and what your day to day work looks like.
I graduated from Medical School in University of Hong Kong in 1981. I passed my Membership of Royal College of Physicians of UK in 1985 and received further training in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics in University of Glasgow, Scotland. I moved to Canada in 1990 and has worked in Geriatrics at North York General Hospital since 1997. I spend two and a half work days at North York General for Geriatrics and I spend the rest of my time in my office. My practice is also geriatric biased, with 60% of my patients are over the age of 65.
2. What sparked your interest in healthcare and specifically geriatrics? What made you choose to pursue a career working with seniors with dementia?
To enjoy working in health care, one must be ready to SERVE and have a PASSION for life. These are the 2 major reasons for me to go into the field. I cannot imagine myself doing anything else. Medicine is getting very very specialized in the past 40 years and it is very difficult to get doctors who are interested in being a generalist. To be a good geriatrician one has to be a very sharp generalist before you can help your senior patients.
3. What is it like working with individuals with dementia? What are the most rewarding and challenging moments you have encountered?
Dementia is one of the major part of my day to day work. Making a diagnosis of dementia is not hard. There are guidelines to follow in the diagnostic pathway that facilitate all professionals to make the diagnosis. Revealing the diagnosis, working with patients and family, and to follow up and providing support for an incurable disease is the most challenging part.
To be able to provide support to patients and family and to receive a positive feedback from the family is the biggest reward One can have. When patients and family members almost treat you as a friend it indicates you are doing a good job.
4. How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your work and the elderly you work with?
It is hard for seniors during COVID and the number one enemy is ISOLATION. Many seniors are depressed. The majority of my consults in the past 6 months are related to these 2 problems. It is easy for us to say we doctors can assess you Virtually, and convert in person visits to a visit by a laptop or IPad. Too many seniors have extreme difficulty with the internet and gadgets, and many of them cannot afford wifi at home. Most seniors love the face to face contact to meet with a doctor or health care professional. Using Virtual is just not something they feel comfortable with.
5. Given the impact of dementia on both the individual and their family/caregivers, what advice would you give to those who have a loved one with dementia?
The most important advice to Dementia patients is to keep active, both physically and mentally. Provide appropriate stimulation for the seniors, such as art, pets, enjoying their hobbies, learn something new that is within their capacity, Music, playing bridge, mahjong........ The list is endless. Take them out to visit more nature and meet with more people and increase their socialization.
We would like to sincerely thank Dr. Chu for taking the time to share with us about his experiences working with individuals with dementia.
