New EBMH Digital Communication Assistants

 

Meet the new EBMH Digital Communication Assistants…

V

Who are you?
I’m Veronica Heney. I graduated two years ago from the University of Oxford with a BA in History and English. I loved my degree, particularly the opportunity to explore topics and texts from an interdisciplinary perspective. I work as Communications Assistant for SAPPHIRE (Social science APPlied to Healthcare Improvement REsearch) at the University of Leicester. In my role I produce reports, academic publications, web content, presentations, and press releases for academic and non-academic audiences and run SAPPHIRE’s social media accounts.

Why EBMH?
I think that we often don’t understand mental health conditions very well. This is partly because they’ve historically been understudied, but it’s also because of persistent stigma associated with mental health problems. This means that we often don’t talk about mental health openly, accurately, or sensitively. I think that it’s important that this changes. Dealing with a mental health condition is difficult enough without feeling isolated or contending with stereotypes and prejudice.  Part of achieving that change is research and the way we talk about that research, and I think the work of EBMH can really make a difference. I’m also interested in the connection between mental health conditions and social inequalities. We need more research, more nuanced conversations, and we need to listen, carefully and empathically, to the people for whom the combination of ill-health and social inequality is a daily reality. Being involved with EBMH is now a wonderful opportunity to contribute to much-needed change.

What aspects of the role are you looking forward to?
Well, I can definitely say that I am not looking forward to dealing with the inevitable technical difficulties generated by Google Hangouts! But more seriously, I’m really excited about all the new things I’m going to learn about mental health conditions and treatment and I think it’s going to be great to work with some of the wonderful people doing this important research. I also think that one of the aspects of the role that is likely to be both challenging and rewarding is running the blog – we’re keen to publish more content on it, and to present a range of perspectives from clinicians to patients to academics. If you have an idea for a blog topic, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We want to make EBMH as interactive as possible, and that means creating the content that you want and need. We look forward to hearing your ideas!

 

RWho are you?
I’m Roxanne Keynejad. I’m a CT2 Academic Clinical Fellow in General Adult Psychiatry at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. I studied graduate-entry Medicine at King’s College London after an undergraduate degree in Psychology with Philosophy at the University of Oxford. I am mental health co-lead for King’s Somaliland Partnership and help to run Twitter feeds for local junior doctors (@MaudsleyDocs) and a medical student teaching course (@ExtremePsych). I am interested in e-learning and the power of digital technology to transform health education.

Why EBMH?
As an Academic Clinical Fellow in the early stages of my research career, I was attracted to this opportunity to actively communicate research findings in accessible and engaging formats, since EBMH is at the forefront of growing educational, training and academic possibilities through the power of social media. EBMH’s aims resonate with me as the collaboration between BMJ, RCPsych and BPS represents a synthesis of disciplines which interact on a daily basis but do not always communicate as well as they might. The journal’s practical ethos, advocating best practice in our daily clinical work meets a real need for busy clinical staff. Through ever-expanding technology, I want to help to extend EBMH’s reach to students, clinicians and academics in low and middle income countries as well as in high income nations. I hope to develop resources and learning experiences which benefit junior trainees approaching examinations as well as more senior readers seeking continuing professional development.

What aspects of the role are you looking forward to?
Like Veronica, I anticipate a few technological teething problems, but am still excited by the ability of Google Hangouts to bring EBMH’s content to life. The potential to interact directly with article authors online and engage in personal discussion and debate is a great opportunity. Spending a not inconsiderable percentage of my time commuting, I really believe in podcasts as a means of communicating research and, inspired by other excellent BMJ podcasts, hope to develop these. Video projects are another avenue, alongside enhancing the blog and using Twitter to draw your attention to key publications and events. A downside of social media is feeling overwhelmed by information. Our goal is to make EBMH your one-stop resource for all the content you need to practise evidence-based mental healthcare.

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