While I try and keep these blogs as supportive, informative and educational as possible (I promise I do!), sometimes a little fun is required.
During lockdown I marvelled as my clinical colleagues stepped up to continue providing for our patients, and I know this has been hard – shifts extended, clients more stress than usual, teams unable to see their colleagues for months on end.
Unwelcome change
While I have experienced my own stresses throughout this period, I feel it has been put into context when I see how you guys have all coped – in particular, I felt so much for the students meant to be sitting OSCEs at the start of this year.
These exams are such a right of passage that, initially, it seemed incomprehensible we would need to change them to cope with the pandemic, and my heart went out to every student and every teacher coping with such change in such a short space of time.
However, while I have been able to do my bit in supporting friends and with my role on VN council, I wanted to spread some additional cheer and positive notes.
Not surprisingly, I did this via my YouTube channel.
Laughter is the best medicine
Yes, there are still serious OSCE videos on there, with plenty of learning and educational support, but I thought there was a space, and it felt like the right time to inject some humour.
Sometimes I think only medical people really get how, even in the darkest times, humour is often your best and, occasionally, only friend.
Despite having worked in a number of different industries, the bonds I have with the people I’ve seen the worst times with at work are some of the strongest I have. The memories of being in clinic are a mix of the memorable cases, memorable clients, and of the overwhelming joy working with some of the funniest people I’ve ever met.
Fun with filming
While I couldn’t construct an entire missed or OSCE window (or a whole graduation), I wanted people to have a flavour of what those events were like, so I created two videos:
This first video aims to give you a taste of that nerve-racking OSCE experience. It was such fun to shoot and edit together – hopefully it can be part of you preparing for your clinical exams, whatever format that may be.
The second video provides some tips to do your own mock graduation, and lets you into a few secrets of the day. There’s also a run through of your 20-second moment where you actually get your scroll – but does it or doesn’t it contain your actual certificate?
So as we head to an autumn and winter of some more uncertainty please watch and enjoy and remember that, even in the darkest days, there is a little light.
Leave a Reply