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Paramedic shares his reflections on three years at St George's

Published: 15 July 2020

Eoin Jardine recently graduated from St George’s having spent three years studying Paramedic Science. Eoin reflects on the unique circumstances of his final few months as a St George’s student, his experience on the frontline during the initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, how a “rollercoaster of emotions” followed an unexpected HIV diagnosis in late 2019, and his plans for the future.  

Eoin begins “At the beginning of the pandemic we were advised that final year paramedic students may be asked to work on the frontline. I was one of the St. George’s students that took on the role of Emergency Ambulance Crew in April and I am still working in that role now. Initially, it was a daunting experience going out ‘on the road’ but thankfully the training we received at St. George’s meant that we were well prepared for life on the frontline. I also think that working throughout the pandemic has given us unprecedented experience that will aid our practice throughout our careers.

“Distanced learning and assessment began just as my cohort were due to go out on our final placement so we didn’t experience too much of it. However, we did have to complete our final assessment online which would have typically been held in the paramedic simulation suite. The paramedic department had to put a huge amount of work into changing a practical assessment into an online examination. Although it was a new format for us, the department did an excellent job adjusting the exam to measure our knowledge and understanding of patient assessment and treatment.”

Despite also falling in the midst of the UK’s Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s pride month was particularly important to Eoin. He explains, “This year’s pride month held a stronger meaning to me this year than any previous year. Although I don’t like the term, I ‘came out’ as gay five years ago back home in Ireland. I have felt more and more comfortable with my identity and my sexuality ever since, especially since moving to London. However, this year felt more important for me to be ‘loud and proud’ due to a series of events that left me almost feeling back ‘in a closet’ of sorts.

“In December 2019 I attended St. George’s A&E and was admitted to the ward where I was diagnosed with HIV. Having a medical background, I think I took the news better than most would. However, I didn’t expect the rollercoaster of emotions and situations I would go through in the following months.

“Telling friends and family wasn’t an easy experience and involved a huge amount of educating people on the current treatment for HIV, explaining the meaning of undetectable and how I cannot pass the virus on to anyone. In the following months I did experience some unsavoury opinions, many of which were blatantly homophobic, from both people known to me and from strangers.

“I had also been as good as let go from my part-time job by a company I had been working in for four years, in what is now an ongoing discrimination dispute. These events subsequently led to a diagnosis of depression and made the final months of my degree exceedingly difficult.

“Thankfully these events also incited a desire in me to speak out about my diagnosis and to help end the stigma surrounding HIV. This is something I have been actively working in for the past few months and have had my story shared by the UK’s leading HIV charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust, and was invited onto my local radio station to tell my story. I now actively seek out any way I can to educate people about HIV and advocate for ending the stigma around the disease.”

Despite qualifying as a paramedic, Eoin hopes to remain at St George’s for a while longer before entering the profession.

“I have now just qualified as a paramedic and have sent in my registration to the Health and Care Professions Council. However, my current plan is not to immediately start working as a paramedic. I feel that my time at St. George’s isn’t finished just yet and have decided to run for SU president as soon as the election reopens. This comes after three years of being year rep for my course and I feel that I can now dedicate more to entire student body at St. George’s.

“Reflecting on my time studying at St. George’s, now that I am finished with my studies, I would say it has been the most exciting, terrifying and formative years of my life. I moved to London from Ireland three years ago to study at St George’s and cannot describe how nervous I was. Little did I know that London (and St. George’s) would become my home.”

 

Eoin Jardine
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