First year medical students to be given insight into mental health support

With World Mental Health Day on 10th October, first year medical students at Imperial College London will be given the opportunity to learn more about mental health support through a new medical simulation.

The simulation, designed by third year Imperial medical students Amna Ahmed, Joshua Walton and Thivvi Gangatharan, will show students how they can tackle mental health problems and encourage them to seek help at the earliest opportunity. Identifying and supporting students with depression at an earlier stage can improve wellbeing and minimise burnout.

This move comes in the wake of a recent study which revealed nearly one in three medical students worldwide experiences depression during their studies.

The aim is to reduce stigma and increase awareness about depression in medical students as well as highlight services available to them via the College and NHS providers.

Students will watch the live performance, before discussing it and sharing thoughts and feedback in groups. It depicts a medical student, played by an actor, at home, talking to a friend and describing typical symptoms of depression such as low mood and difficulty sleeping.

The student then visits a GP, played by a clinician at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. After discussing medical history, symptoms and other background information, the doctor expresses their concern to the student that they may be depressed, and offers anti-depressants, cognitive behavioural therapy and self-care resources such as support groups and exercise activities.  Medical simulation is used in medical training to re-enact a patient’s experiences in healthcare. The three medics behind the simulation recently sat down with Maxine Myers to discuss the performance, why they decided to focus on student mental health and future plans. When asked why they chose medical simulation as the vehicle to raise awareness about mental health, Thivvi explained: “I think there’s something quite pertinent in showing something visually live. Because it’s all well and good talking about it on social media and putting up posters and things like that, but when it’s actually in front of you, you have to engage with it and we hope that by getting our students to witness what potentially one of their peers or themselves could be going through, we could help prevent that in the future.”

Depression is said to be invisible; this simulation gives a visual depiction of "invisible" depression. The trio also aim to tackle the culture of medicine; doctors "always have to be on their A-game" so they often hide mental illness. However, the earlier help is sought, the safer doctors will be with their patients.

Hannah Bannister, the Director of Student Services, said: “We know many of the issues that students may come across while studying.  Sometimes, the most difficult aspect is knowing how and when to ask for help.  The work that Joshua, Amna and Thivvi have done is fantastic. I’m really keen to see how the project and its feedback can help us with reaching and encouraging all of our students to find the right help at the right time.”

First year medical students were specifically targeted because they will be adjusting to a new work-life balance after recently starting university. The ultimate aim is to expand the simulation to subsequent academic years and, in the long term, to even expand to other universities.

After watching the performance students will be asked to provide feedback based on their experience and to identify areas where improvements can be made in accessing services and support.

The project was carried out as part of the St Mary’s Patient Experience Hub, an initiative designed to use medical simulation and tools to improve the experience of patients and families at St Mary’s Hospital.

The Hub is led by the Imperial College Centre of Engagement and Simulation Science (ICCESS), co-directed by Professor Roger Kneebone and Dr Fernando Bello. They are working in partnership with Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust and the project is funded by Imperial Health Charity.

The College is supporting improved mental health outcomes for students by developing a new Student Support Strategy, led by Hannah Bannister. Students can share their ideas on the dedicated consultation page.