Page 211 - FINAL_Guildhall Media Highlights 2019-2020 Coverage Book

21 June 2020
Drama-based resources help Kingston University

nursing students to cope with coronavirus pandemic

Reviewed by James Ives, M.Psych. (Editor)

A set of drama-based resources to help Kingston University, London nursing students working during
the Covid-19 pandemic have been put together through a collaboration with world-leading performing

arts school Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London.

During the Covid-19 pandemic a set of drama-based resources have been put together through a
collaboration between Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the School of Nursing at Kingston

University.

The free online learning materials came as a result of a partnership between the institutions, inspired
by nurses doctoral programme leader at Guildhall School of Music & Drama Dr Alex Mermikides met
while her brother Milton was treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia - a serious type of blood

cancer. They were put together digitally for the first time as part of a research initiative due to the
coronavirus crisis, which has seen teaching move online.

Kingston University adapted its nursing programmes in response to the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure
students continue to progress on their programme. A number of innovative online activities have been

developed to support them during this time. Many of the University's students have been successfully
deployed into practice in-line with the United Kingdom's Nursing and Midwifery Council guidance and
the support of Health Education England.

Undergraduates going out to practice to the pandemic have access to the Drama out of a Crisis online
pack, which offers tips, videos and podcasts on how to manage unexpected situations, how to cope

with a new environment, learning new routines quickly and building relationships with colleagues
quickly. Developed with input from performing artists, it shares strategies that are part of a performers'

job, like learning lines and routines quickly, bonding with colleagues and coping with stage fright and
other strong emotions. Nurses are very busy, the format is designed to be absorbed quickly,
according to Dr Mermikides, a former lecturer in drama at Kingston University.