Both a UEA alumnus of the Creative Writing MA and a current professor of medical and health humanities, Professor Christie Watson discusses her return to nursing during the pandemic, the importance of true voices within medical professions to be heard, finding meaning in suffering, and her latest book The Courage to Care: A Call For…
Science
My Nursing Placement on a COVID Ward
My placement was never supposed to be on a COVID ward. However, when a second peak started to become a reality, teams in the hospital had to be re-shuffled to make preparations for the possibility of an influx of patients, and my team were called on to run the new COVID positive ward. I was…
#BLM, Science
Racism in the healthcare setting
Racial biases within medicine have been rampant and prominent across history. With many doctors and scientists throughout history, reinforcing racial stereotypes and hierarchical systems within the quality of health care they provide. History shows decades of biased education, the exploitation of racial minorities as subjects for medical teaching and training, and unethical scientific experimentation such…
Science
What’s happening to the NHS post-Brexit?
Upon leaving the EU, healthcare benefits will change, with staffing losses, a lack of free healthcare abroad, and limited access to important public health information. Staffing losses are expected to be monumental, with leaked government estimates suggested shortages in nursing could read 20,000 by 2025 if migration is shut off. These losses starting from a…
Travel
Healthcare in Vietnam: A first-hand experience
This summer I spent 3 weeks working as a student nurse in one of Vietnam’s poorest public hospitals. The scale of this venture did not sink in until I had waved goodbye to my family at Heathrow airport, continuing through airport security, alone. This was the first time I had travelled beyond Europe by myself,…
Features
Health surcharge for International Students
In 2015, the government introduced a healthcare surcharge for non-EU citizens applying to study or migrate to the United Kingdom. The initial cost of the surcharge for students was £150 but since the turn of 2019, it has now doubled and will now cost international non-EU students £300 per year of study. The Immigration Healthcare…
Science
Medical tech: a gimmick or the future?
Advances in the accessibility of online-based healthcare services has the potential to change how we use and access medical help. A Service called ‘Thriva’ offers online and postal health monitoring services. Pay somewhere between £24 and £69 per package and you can have your blood tested for cholesterol, liver function, vitamin D and more. The…
Comment
Jeremy Hunt’s response to the junior doctors’ strike is apathetic and will do him no favours
Starting today, Britain will be facing several weeks of NHS disruption, as junior doctors (a title which refers to any medical professional who has not yet reached consultancy level) go on strike, during what is usually one of the busiest periods of the year. This is the first example of such action for more than…
Global
Why the US needs Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood, is an American organization that provides reasonably priced healthcare to both men and women at clincs located in the United States, but they are most well-known throughout the country for their abortion services. They are, not for the first time, facing scrutiny and have been brought to the forefront of the news agenda….
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