Final-year Psychology student, Grace Waterman, shares her experience of working at a vaccination centre.

Grace Waterman, a final-year student in Psychology, is contributing to the vaccination effort that is finally getting us out of the pandemic. While completing her final year, she trained to administer vaccine jabs and now takes shifts at one of Surrey’s largest vaccination centres. “The community spirit is inspiring”, says Grace, “There are all kinds of people helping, like dentists, vets, and teachers”. Indeed, there were so many people eager to help that Grace had to wait several months until a training opportunity became available.

Before working at the vaccination centre, Grace saw a much darker side of the pandemic. She carried out screening at the admission desk of a maternity ward. There, the impact of the COVID-19 rules was palpable. Mothers had to go through procedures alone, even in cases of miscarriage. “It’s sad to see people having to go through this without support because other people broke the rules”. However, the community effort that makes the success of the vaccination programme possible, restored Grace’s faith in humanity. Grace is now preparing for a career in medicine and wants to take the knowledge and insights that she gained in her Psychology degree forward. “Medicine sees things more holistically now, mental health and behaviour are import factors”, she says. “Having studied Psychology gives me a clear advantage”. We wish her all the best and thank her for sharing her story.

Did you have an experience that you would like to share? We would love to hear from you. Please email joe.bathelt@rhul.ac.uk