Medical student’s view of life on the COVID-19 frontline

Like so many of the Medical students at the University of Southampton, Leah Crabtree is currently experiencing a steep learning curve after joining the NHS as a Healthcare Assistant and working on a hospital ward treating COVID-19 patients.

During a four-part filmed interview, Leah provides insight into how her life has changed, what she’s faced day-to-day and how her fellow students and early graduates are keeping in touch to help each other make sense of what’s been happening.

“There’s a lot of sadness, there’s a lot of sickness and there’s a lot of death but we’re also seeing lots of success stories and elderly people recovering and being able to go home which has been brilliant,” said Leah.

“We’re of course sharing best practice for how best to use our PPE, what best to wear in the mornings, because we’re wearing disposable scrubs,” she continued, “but we’re also making sure that we debrief each other at the end of the day because this is new and scary and can be quite sad so we’re making the most of coming home and making sure we talk about our days.”