In this episode Helen is joined by Shivani, who graduated in Medicine in 2021. Shivani looks back on her experiences of 5th year, and how reflection and journaling unexpectedly helped her cope with lockdowns and difficult situations on placement.

Niamh graduated in Medicine in 2021 and was Wellbeing rep for LivPsych last year. Last Christmas, she wrote a blogpost about the “12 Days of Wellbeing”, including the Ultimate Boxing Day Sandwich: https://mindinconversation.wordpress.com/2020/12/23/niamhs-12-days-of-wellbeing/

If you’re a medical, nursing or AHP student, and you’d like to talk on the podcast about your experiences of working or studying during the COVID-19 pandemic, please get in touch with us. Contact us at: [email protected]

Medical students have made a vital contribution to the COVID vaccination programme in Liverpool There have been lots of challenges along the way, but it has transformed many people’s lives and is changing how healthcare is delivered. In this episode Helen talks to Aileen, who recently graduated in medicine and worked as a vaccinator, and Rachel Stead who coordinates the programme.

The Guardian article Rachel refers to is here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/04/inspiring-confidence-liverpool-gps-tackle-the-vaccine-race-gap

Episode 21 has more discussion about COVID misinformation and conspiracy theories.

After a break in podcast episodes, we’re back with a second series. Things are very different to when we were releasing podcast episodes before, but we are still “Coping with COVID” in various ways.

In this episode, Helen is joined by Henry, who recently graduated in Medicine. He talks about some of the situations he found most difficult during his final year, and the feeling of having ‘missed out’ that I’m sure many of us can relate to.

If you’re a medical, nursing or AHP student, and you’d like to talk on the podcast about your experiences of working or studying during the COVID-19 pandemic, please get in touch with us. Contact us at: [email protected]

If you need support, here are a few of our recommendations:

School of Medicine Wellbeing Team (for medical students at the University of Liverpool) [email protected]

University of Liverpool Student Support Services (for nursing, AHP and other students at the University of Liverpool) https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/studentsupport/

Employee Assistance Programme (for staff at the University of Liverpool) https://staff.liverpool.ac.uk/our-workplace-and-community/support-and-development/employee-assistance-programme/)

NHS Staff Support Line https://people.nhs.uk/help/

Samaritans free phoneline: 116 123   [email protected]   www.samaritans.org

Helen discusses resilience with Dr Warren Donnellan. Warren talks about the ecological model of resilience and identifying the resources that can help us through challenging times.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13607863.2014.977771?journalCode=camh20

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13607863.2016.1209734

Here are two podcast episodes in which Warren discusses carer resilience in particular:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/775076/5723926-6-dr-warren-donnellan

In this episode, Helen is joined by Etienne, a third year diagnostic radiography student who has worked and been on placement in the NHS during COVID-19. We talked about how placements have been different during the pandemic, and what parts of the experience have stood out for her.

If you’re a medical, nursing or AHP student, and you’d like to talk on the podcast about your experiences of working or studying, please get in touch with us at: [email protected]

If you need support, here are a few of our recommendations:

School of Medicine Wellbeing Team (for medical students at the University of Liverpool) [email protected]

In this episode, Helen talks to Danny Blair, a Lecturer in Radiotherapy at the University of Liverpool. They discuss the importance of social connections, how the Radiotherapy Department have been supporting students during COVID-19, and Danny shares his tips for hosting a great Zoom quiz.

We’d love to hear your feedback and experiences. You can contact us at [email protected]

Mentioned in this episode:

• MacArthur, K. R., & Sikorski, J. (2020). A qualitative analysis of the coping reservoir model of pre-clinical medical student well-being: Human connection as making it “worth it.” BMC Medical Education, 20(1).

https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-020-02067-8

• Kahoot! Quiz software https://kahoot.com/

• Chocolate bar cross-sections quiz https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8251229/The-great-chocdown-quiz.html

The following support services are available over the Christmas holidays:

• Student Space – https://studentspace.org.uk/wellbeing/the-christmas-break call free between 3pm and 12am every day on 0808 189 5260

• PAPYRUS is the UK Charity for the prevention of young suicide (under 35). For PAPYRUS HOPELINEUK call 0800 068 4141 (open 9am – midnight every day of the week)

• You can text SHOUT https://giveusashout.org/ free of charge from any UK mobile network and get confidential advice and support straight to your mobile

• If you are ill, you can contact your GP, or visit a Walk In Centre or pharmacy. Information and advice about NHS services is available at https://www.nhs.uk/. If you need help now, but it’s not an emergency, visit https://111.nhs.uk/ or call 111.

• If you need to talk to someone in confidence the Samaritans https://www.samaritans.org/ have a 24 hour line which is free to call: 116 123.

In this episode, Helen is joined by Dr Dean Burnett, a neuroscientist and author. They talk about the effect on our mental wellbeing of spending time outdoors or with a view of nature, and the new appreciation many of us have for going outside after lockdown and self-isolation.

We’d love to hear your feedback and experiences. You can contact us at [email protected]

• A blogpost by Dean on The Benefits of Outside https://cosmicshambles.com/words/blogs/deanburnett/mental-health-hacks-three

Books by Dean:

Helen is joined by Professor Vicky Karkou, Director for the Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing at Edge Hill University. Lots of us have been dancing, singing, painting, cooking, gardening, and doing craft projects during COVID-19. In this episode we talk about how arts and creativity benefit our mental wellbeing, the research evidence in this area, and how they can be used therapeutically.

You can contact us at [email protected]

Mentioned in this episode:

The Arts for the Blues website is here: https://artsfortheblues.com/

Publications (including the Cochrane reviews mentioned in the episode) are listed here: https://artsfortheblues.com/publications