This piece tackles the wellbeing of medical students during the pandemic, mainly focused on us first years. The creative medium I used was an iPhone app called Bazaart. I felt that I wanted to make some sort of art piece, but due to the fact that physical art is something I am not very good at, and I do not have any computer software like photoshop, I knew this app would be best for me.  

The person in the centre is supposed to depict a first-year medical student, shown by the ‘1’s and the stethoscope around the neck. The blood shot eyes and the upside frown on top of the mask shows the difficulty the student is having, trying to present as okay and fit into the stereotype of being ‘a medical student’. This stereotype being – a student who is absolutely perfect, a student that doesn’t know the meaning of the word pressure and has enough time to balance work and social life. A student who achieves high grades in every exam and displays excellent mental health. A student whose only goal is to become a doctor and has no doubts about the degree they chose at all. Such a stereotype is virtually impossible to achieve and yet it seems like that is expected of us by family and friends. 

The black silhouette behind the student is filled with random words of what we have experienced so far on the Bristol course; blended learning, online learning, face to face, effective consulting, anatomy, etc. The word CANCELLED appears frequently in between the other words to show the experiences we could have had but have been taken from us due to the pandemic.  The placement of the black silhouette separates the student from the background of the picture, which is a collage of hospital settings. The collage is blurred, conveying the disconnection we have to such a setting, ‘too far away so it appears blurred’.  The separation of the student and the collage by the silhouette amplifies this feeling of being unable to reach the expectations we had. 

In order to create this piece, my own feelings were drawn upon, but were greatly amplified to add more impact. Although this year has been tough for everyone, there are some experiences we have however gained. Despite quite a lot of our learning being online, we have still managed to have some teaching in person and met new people in the process.

This image puts a lot of things in perspective for me, if we managed to get through this year despite the circumstances, surely the years to come will be better and easier than the first.