Student Spotlight: Shantanu Kundu
Student Spotlights pass the mic to our student doctors, to hear their take on their School experience and shine the light on a particular role, team or pathway through the School of Medicine.
Student Doctor Shantanu Kundu is currently completing an intercalated MSc in Acute, Critical and Emergency Medicine at the University of Liverpool. He was recently awarded a Spirit of Liverpool School of Medicine Prize for his work to reduce the stigma around mental health, powered by his award-winning Be Free Campaign.
The musical mecca of Liverpool
I was born in Walsall and went on to study secondary school in Birmingham. During the latter years of school, I soon realised I was passionate about having an impact on people’s lives. I was keen to study either medicine or philosophy and soon decided on the former as I felt it would shape me more as a person.
Being a singer/songwriter, I had always been interested in coming to Liverpool.
My father had been supporting the football team ever since he travelled from India in the 1980s. What better place than Liverpool to get playing across pubs and restaurants. Little did I know at that time that I would eventually delve into music venues like the Arts Club and the Cavern Club.
With fellow Spirit of Liverpool winner Anthonia Adefolaju
The process of applying to medicine is an arduous one, which can really open you up to failures. I had two pre-interview rejections which had really disheartened me. Fortunately, I ended up getting two interviews and then two offers from the University of East Anglia and Liverpool. I had always wanted to choose the city that I wanted to live in - so Liverpool it was.
Results day was a scary time as I had never been the most academically gifted. I also studied the International Baccalaureate which had 6 subjects as well as an extended essay, philosophy component and voluntary service. Whilst it may sound fun, it meant there were more hurdles to trip up on. Opening results with my father in the car was probably the most nervous and exciting thing I have done. My father went on to crash the car as he went to park up - I don’t know why he stopped to open results in the middle of a road anyway!
Tailored wellbeing services
In my first year, I was a course rep and had the chance of developing a review of the wellbeing services that the school of medicine. I also had the opportunity to work with the Director of Wellbeing at the time to recommend improvements and changes in their offerings.
I think that the wellbeing team at the school offers excellent and tailored support to student doctors, so use it if you need.
They will support you and ensure that you get the best help.
I have been privileged to have founded and currently direct the Be Free Campaign, a mental health charity giving people the tools they need to look after their mental health. We work with schools, universities, communities and colleges to offer counselling, mental health education provisions and wellbeing programmes.
So, we will work with schools and deliver their counselling, sessions for students, staff and parents as well as a bespoke mental health first aid programme for young people - equipping them to positively impact people around them.
It started off as a rocky journey and I felt it lacked a vision and clear progress. However, I tried my best and it has now been funded by Sajid Javid and his Department of Health and Social Care, as well as the personal support of Prime Minister Boris Johnson following a Point of Light Award in October 2020.
Shantanu's efforts have supported young people up and down the country
In July 2021), I was invited to an event at 10 Downing Street as a thank you for the work I had done across COVID-19. Levi Roots was also our chef which was a nice surprise! I had the opportunity to speak to both the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State regarding the improvements in mental health, where they both recognised their commitment to increasing funding and support for young people.
Whilst our political views may differ, I felt that they had listened and wanted to change. I will probably always complain that it’s not enough - but they have boosted funding and increased training for schools across the country.
The impact of a global pandemic
Following COVID-19, there was a massive change in the need for mental health to improve and this meant we had to act. Through the Be Free Campaign we provided schools with online mental health training, wellbeing programmes and worked with our vast network of celebrities to get people talking about their mental health.
We also recognised that people weren’t getting information about mental health effectively, especially amongst the news stories around death tolls and the lack of a vaccine. We partnered with community organisations where we delivered mental health resources alongside food parcels to further people’s toolkit to improve their mental health.
In 2020, I had recruited Finn Thompson to become our new Director of Publications from which we went on to publish our first book - The Journey - a guide to mental healthand wellbeing.
There was no clear resource for adults and teachers regarding their mental health - so we made one!
What made it more exciting was the opportunities it opened up. We are now working on two new books that look at children’s and adolescents’ mental health. This is really exciting - so thanks to the team and publishers!
During COVID-19, I also launched a passion project called Being Free - a podcast on mental health and wellbeing. I had the pleasure of speaking with influencers and celebrities such as Faye Bate and Susie Weaver where we discussed topics surrounding mental health (in particular their own mental health).
These conversations were really rewarding and the podcast was really successful. However, for me, it was more the fact that I got a space to chat with some amazing people. Our team is currently working on Season 2 where we are getting even bigger guests with more stories and themes!
Looking to the future
I am excited to carry on my work with the charity for years to come. We opened new offices in Liverpool after lockdown and we would love to continue its expansion across the rest of the country.
In regards to my medical career, often people say you have to give up your whole life to medicine but I feel that I recognise the space for less than full-time doctors who also have interests in the charity sector or governance.
Medicine isn’t just about treating patients (even though that is really fun and rewarding), it’s also about connecting and engaging with communities and recognising gaps where change can be implemented.
Whilst I am intercalating in Acute, Critical and Emergency Medicine here at Liverpool, I’m currently toying with the idea of becoming a GP with a special interest in mental health (as well as working shifts in A&E). Who knows, I could even go into charity management full time. However, that’s the beauty of medicine, you develop transferable skills which can be used in any walk of life.
If you would like to work with an award-winning mental health charity and have a positive impact on people around your community and online when it comes to mental health, get involved with the Be Free Campaign. After securing funding from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Be Free Campaign is looking for volunteers to help carry out its mental health provisions for schools and wellbeing programmes. Take a look at the roles available on the official website (link), ranging from delivering mental health teaching to running large scale projects.
Get in touch with mednews@liverpool.ac.uk if you’d like to step into the Student Spotlight or nominate a student or group to do so.