Hannah: Blog number one

My name is Hannah and I am in my third year studying medicine at Newcastle University. I spent last year at Leeds University studying for the intercalated BSc in International Health.

My main motivation for attending the BCMCCP was to learn how to help the NHS within my region reduce its carbon emissions. I saw the programme as an opportunity assist in making tangible change, whilst gaining knowledge and meeting like-minded people. In short, I did not want to complain about a situation that I was doing nothing to improve.

I learnt a lot at the training weekend in London and really enjoyed meeting others on the programme.

The main points I took from the weekend were:

• A better idea of the programme, including its conception, purpose and my role
• An understanding of the range of areas in which I could get involved
• An insight into how best to approach different actors within the NHS- I am particularly thinking about David’s talk which included: reframing, storytelling, letter writing and the power of league tables.
• Frances’ talk highlighted quite how complex it is to make the NHS more sustainable. There are so many actors, variables and vested interests, which also means there are many opportunities…
  

I am really excited about getting stuck-in. I anticipate that the next 8 months will be busy and at times frustrating. But I am sure that the programme will be rewarding and I am looking forward to working closely with everyone else in the team.

Areas I am keen to get involved in:

• I am most interested in health policy and effecting change from the top down. This is because I (possibly naively) believe that policy change is likely to have a wider impact. I would be happy to look at the clinical side later on, but would prefer to focus on one area in the beginning. I anticipate that my area of focus is likely to depend heavily on individual actors and the responses I receive.
• I want to increase my knowledge about how the NHS functions and read local and national policies and documents on sustainability
• I hope to join and/or create a network of people working on sustainability within the Newcastle trust. I will find working as part of a team more enjoyable and know it will be more effective than acting alone.