Hi everyone! I know it has been a while since my last post, I think I have been in a slight writing slump and have been telling myself that there is no pressure to write regularly. But I am back again because I wanted to share an amazing opportunity I had this week!
Since starting this blog, a close friend of mine suggested I reach out to deaf charities to let them know about my writing. I reached out to the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) and they really liked the blog. Coincidentally at the same time, they were working on the Deaf Works Everywhere Campaign to raise awareness on all the different kinds of jobs and careers that deaf people go on to do! This is especially after a recent YouGov poll of 2176 people commissioned by NDCS found 47% of the public do not think deaf people can be doctors. For this, they collaborated with ITV to do a press release and ITV contacted me to be their main person!
I, of course, said yes! I brushed up a bit on my acting skills, last pulled out when I was a Lost Boy in my Year 6 Peter Pan production. Oh no, but that wasn’t a speaking role…
So, ITV said they wanted to film me in my work environment interacting with colleagues and then do an interview on my experiences as a deaf medical student. I was at Chesterton Medical Centre, as part of the CAMEO team. CAMEO (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Assessing, Managing and Enhancing Outcomes) is a mental health service for people who are struggling with distressing experiences like hallucinations or paranoia. The service supports people that may be at high risk of developing a mental health problem such as psychosis and those that may be experiencing their first episode of psychosis.
I was feeling quite nervous on the day, but the CAMEO team were really lovely and reassured me, especially Dr Lili Galindo Guarin! The CPFT communications team were also there to support me, and they eased my worries too!
So! I will be on ITV1 news today (27th Jan) from 6-6:30pm raising awareness of the different types of jobs deaf people can have. I spoke about my experiences as a deaf medical student, some of the challenges and the support I receive. I think an online version with subtitles will be released this weekend (and will upload this as soon as I have access!)
I loved this opportunity and hopefully it will inspire more deaf people to apply to Medicine. It is so important to have medical professionals who look like the community they serve.
(note to myself for next time: be less nervous! you are doing well, and try to ignore the camera inches away from your face!)
Thank you for reading 😊
Ashna x
