Recognising the patient as a carer too: focusing on young carers
Natalie Murray
This is a situation that I can personally relate to within my family and one I wished to explore in my work. The title Young Carer can seem quite extreme to many children for whom their caring responsibilities are simply just part of their life, almost normal. I say almost because, especially as the child gets older, they realise that their life is somewhat different to that of their friends or peers and, sadly, there is often stigma associated with this. This leads to mixed feelings towards parents and a very complex, often difficult relationship between child and parent. I believe this is where doctors can, and should, help in ensuring that the necessary support is put in place to best deal with this situation.
Working on creative pieces such as this drawing is something I find therapeutic; it allows me to think about my experiences and explore the emotions that go with it: confusion, love, hate, helplessness, pride and anger to name just a few. As a future doctor, I hope that my insight into caring as a young person will transfer as the ability to be able to identify and help those experiencing responsibilities similar to my own. I also recognise that in order to be a good doctor I need to ensure that I do not allow any of my own emotions to blur my view when trying to help in such situations.
This is a beautiful piece of art that really encapsulates the relationship between parent and child. I agree that within any sort of relationship there will be changes in responsibility which may occur at any stage of life, no matter how young, and you have portrayed many emotions that not only will be relatable to a young carer, but also be translated into the medical field.
This fine piece of art captures beautifully the essence of caring and how this is an intrinsic aspect of the human nature from the very beginning until the very end of our lives. Similarly, the concept of caring is an inseparable part of the medical profession. By understanding the innate human need of being cared for, as future doctors we should aim to to provide holistic care, addressing the psychological and emotional needs of our patients; especially the ones that are not fortunate enough to have support from family members. This is evidently a great representation of the cycle of life and a stark reminder that the roles can be reversed unexpectedly at any point in time with the carer, or in our case the doctor, becoming the one that needs to be cared for.