When I was on a ward, I was given the opportunity to listen to a patient’s atrial fibrillation using a stethoscope. I had to sheepishly explain to the doctor that the only time that I had really used a stethoscope had been on a teddy bear, as co-vid restrictions meant I couldn’t do in-person consulting. The doctor, although surprised by this, kindly led me through the process.

I wanted to somehow capture this experience as something I could look back on and remember what it was like to start Medicine in the middle of a pandemic. Whilst this piece may seem light-hearted and even comical, it also serves as a reminder as to how isolating and difficult this year has been at times, where your whole world sometimes seems like it is restricted to your bedroom. Making this work allowed me to reconnect with my creative side, especially as co-vid restrictions have made it so hard to continue with ceramics and pottery. 

I sculpted this piece out of clay. I decided to sculpt myself wearing my favourite outfit, even down to the rainbow-striped socks, sat on the floor of my bedroom – fortunately shoes aren’t necessary when you’re doing online learning! Although it was hard to find a kiln to fire it, I managed to transport it to a pottery shop in South Bristol. Once fired, I then sculpted the stethoscope out of air-dry clay, as I thought it was probably too fragile to make and fire in actual clay. Finally, I painted the piece with layers of acrylic paint.