Dean's Update | February 2021
5 AM again?! A mistle thrush has taken up residence in the tree outside the bedroom window. I should feel privileged. It is beautiful and I haven’t seen one before this year. It is also very loud and at 5 in the morning it can be hard to feel privileged at being the only one who seems to hear it in the household.
So, on one of the recent snowy Sunday mornings we had, I thought I would make the most of the early alarm call and the brighter February light and creep out for a snowy stomp with the dog, along the woodland riverside walk about a mile from my house. It was sparkling in the morning light and all was quiet and calm. Until the dog vanished.
It was then still very quiet -she never barks- but very not calm as I ran up and down the path calling for the dog, to no avail, and imagined trying to explain to my sons I HAD LOST or DROWNED THE DOG! I met another early riser, still in possession of his dog, and asked if he had seen mine. He had not, but offered to help.
We left the path and combed the edge of the icy river, trying not to slip in. Finally, a black Labrador head looked up silently from the riverbed edge. She could not grip the slippery ice and I could not reach her. The stranger lay on the snow, pulled her to safety and made it possible for me to face my family.
Everyday kindness remains such a blessing. Monday’s Government announcement carries hope for us all and I can’t wait for when we might feel more together on campus. Yet, there are still several steps to take before we can bask in the light ahead, and plenty to reflect on, or recover from. So, kindness (and perhaps chocolate) counts.
A few words of thanks here, the offer of help there. Over these next months, I hope you will make it part of each day to share some kindness that you might previously have held back.
Indeed, kindness and fairness and appreciating the value of every member of our School family is core to who we are. Disappointingly, microaggression on NHS placements was highlighted by you as a concern and I am very grateful to those of you in the 3,4, and 5 placement years who have already responded to our survey which, in partnership with the NHS, Health Education England, colleagues in the School of Health Sciences and the Anthony Walker Foundation, seeks to understand this better and create interventional training resources for staff and patients.
Of course, kindness is a two-way street. If my dog had barked, both of us would have been less distressed much earlier and, especially with so much else in the background to this year, it is important for us to accept when we need help and ask for it.
I was glad to hear that you have been making use of the ‘Sooth your mind’ sessions’ arranged by your Wellbeing team, and I hope that you will check out the range of other support they offer you. Likewise, your year teams and academic advisors are only too happy to hear from you at the drop-ins or in-between.
Some of us might also find great relief in creative work and, if you haven’t already started, there is still time to showcase your talents in our Da Vinci Competition. I’m really looking forward to seeing your ideas!
With thanks to your fantastic staff team, in and around the School, who have worked lots of extra hours, in many more complicated ways than usual, teaching and the planned development in the School, and several new inventive alternative approaches, have continued despite COVID e.g., a replacement to VITAL is being built, Y2 placement consultants are assembling a very interesting approach to a simulated hospital week for March, and I look forward to sharing more news soon of the exciting plans for the revised Y5 of the curriculum.
These next months will hopefully mean less pressure for our colleagues in the NHS and a growing anticipation for the rest of us, of the potential vibrancy of the academic year ahead.
Whatever follows, I know your NHS colleagues and your future patients will greatly appreciate the ongoing commitment that you bring to your studies now and the kindness you show each day.
Professor Hazel Scott
Dean of the School of Medicine