In the latest episode of ‘The Coping with COVID’ podcast Dr Helen West is joined by a nursing student who has been redeployed to work in the NHS as part of the UK response to COVID-19.
During the episode the student, Duncan, talks about some of the challenges and defining moments of his redeployment and how he’s coped with these experiences.
Lecturers from the University’s Department of Psychology launched ‘The Coping with COVID’ podcast last month to provide support to medical, AHP and nursing students working in the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Within the University of Liverpool 98 student nurses, 247 AHP students and 230 medical students have volunteered to work on the frontline in the NHS. There are many more at Universities across the country, and beyond doing the same.
As part of the ongoing support students are receiving, Dr Helen West and Dr Suzi Gage created the ‘Coping with COVID’ podcast to address the challenges they are facing and respond to their concerns.
Practical and valuable tips
Each short episode provides practical ways to look after your mental wellbeing, applying evidence-based approaches to real life situations.
Episodes so far have looked at: how to recharge your mental health; maintaining resilience in stressful and challenging situations; how to get your sleep back on track if the pandemic has disrupted it; and what to do if you’re drinking more alcohol than usual during lockdown.
This episode, entitled ‘Student Experiences: Duncan’, can be listened to via the player below or can be found via your usual podcast provider:
Protecting and improving mental wellbeing
Dr Helen West, said: “Experts within the University in each of these areas have provided practical and valuable tips for staying mentally healthy. There have also been guest appearances from staff in the Schools of Medicine and Nursing, sharing the strategies they’re using to look after their mental wellbeing.”
Dr Suzi Gage, said: “Whilst primarily aimed at students working in the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the podcast episodes would be helpful for anyone aiming to protect or improve their mental wellbeing in difficult circumstances.”
All episodes can be found here: https://blubrry.com/coping_with_covid_podcast/
Get involved
If you would like to contact our podcast with feedback or suggestions for future recordings please e-mail covidpod@liverpool.ac.uk
More information about resilience and stress can be found on the Project ARES website.