This is the Academy of Medical Sciences career support space for biomedical and health researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We know that virtually everyone will have been affected by the pandemic in some shape or form, sometimes at critical points in our careers. This support space brings together various resources under the headings: RECOVER, REFLECT and REIMAGINE. Each topic includes personal stories from other researchers, resources and tools, and useful links.
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To best reflect the different ways in which the pandemic is impacting our lives, our resources are organised under three main themes:
RECOVER encapsulates resources that help support us throughout the stage with most acute impact on our lives. This has been felt in many communities, including postgraduate researchers and clinicians. Resources for these two groups are gathered under the headings ‘Support for postgraduate researchers’ and ‘On the clinical frontline’. You can learn more about coping with the impact on personal lives in the ‘Loneliness and social isolation’ section, gathering resources supporting mental health.
Under the theme of REFLECT, we gathered resources which help us make sense of the pandemic as it becomes less acute. The early impact brought about new challenges in terms of leadership, time management and work-life balance. The incredible resilience we have shown in order to address these has also presented an opportunity to improve our work and personal lives by sustaining some of the positive changes we have implemented. Here we provide transferable resources on dealing with ‘Stress and overwork’ and ‘Leading your team’. It is important we keep focusing on our work/life balance and healthy mindset – more information is available in the ‘Looking after yourself’ section. The pandemic related disruption has also opened questions about career progression and emphasised the importance of support network – many resources on successfully approaching these questions (considering ongoing disruptions) are available in the ‘Mentoring support’ section.
Substantial impact has highlighted the existing inequalities in the clinical and research environments, presenting the opportunities to REIMAGINE and address these, making the new normal more equitable, actively addressing inequalities. We gather resources on ‘Challenging inequalities’.
COVID-19 - Q&A for applicants and award holders