What a month! What a new world we live in! What a School community!
You can imagine my feelings walking out of Cedar House when all the work to make it pretty (and get us a coffee machine!) wasn’t that long completed. However, that must have been nothing compared to how those of you in Artefacts felt when the Government announcements led up to the cancellation of the show! A number of us were so looking forward to it. Who knows, perhaps you will work out how to record a group sing of some of the songs and we won’t miss out after all.
It’s certainly been a quick learning curve for us all (especially staff), as we journeyed into the world of ZOOM and decided what angle of the room would look most presentable - but what a team we have! I have been so impressed at how staff and students have all just jumped in and embraced the tools available.
As you can imagine, we have focused our attention first on your safety and studies, but we also still want to share in some of the fantastic Liverpool medical spirit you usually have. Those of you who are part of our many societies could help us consider what connections or competitions (academic or social) might best spread our Liver bird wings across the globe and draw us all together. Please do keep sending your ideas to mednews@liverpool.ac.uk.
Of course, some of you are also reaching out to your local communities through volunteering. Please stay safe and remember that first and foremost, the country needs you to be the doctors it will depend on next year and the year after that etc, so maintaining your studies is still your most important contribution to keeping the country going.
I want to especially mention our Y5 volunteers (95% of the year). There are some who can’t volunteer and they are to be commended for recognising that. Those who are starting today, go into the NHS with the whole School’s very best wishes and admiration. You are well prepared to make a massive difference to patient care and to enrich your site’s clinical community with your professionalism and teamwork. We will continue to connect with you regularly and we hope that you will keep us posted about your experiences. Looking forward to a truly memorable graduation ceremony when it comes!