Today was presentation day and it was really nerve racking for all of us. There were four groups for presentations and each group had about 12-15 minutes to present what we learned during our time here and the UK and how it compares to the US. Even though we were very anxious to present I think it was a great learning experience for all of us since it challenged us and prepared us for real presentations were destined to perform one day in our careers.
The first group consisted of Kayla, Courtney, Abbie, and Mary. They began their presentation by giving an overview of the NHS, the healthcare system in the UK. They mentioned that healthcare in the UK is a system that works from the cradle to the grave. They also mentioned general practitioners are community-based doctors and gatekeepers, and that clinical commissioning groups commission hospital and community services in their region. They also discussed how access to mental health in the UK works. In the UK mental health services are free however a referral from a GP is required and there are wait times that can range greatly depending on the severity of the situation of the patient. The group also highlighted the disparities in the UK and US, including gender, age group, and suicide. Another thing they mentioned that I wasn’t aware of was the Pause service which relates to mental health and offers communities with inpatient care. Specifically regarding education, there is Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services which is a service by the NHS that provides kids with services to assess and treat young people with emotional, behavior, and mental needs.
The next group that presented was made up of Quincy, Beckie, Audrey, and Lindsey. They discussed public health and education and specifically its relations to immigration. They focused mainly on the differences between how immigrants are represented and treated within education and healthcare. A disparity statistic that I found really interesting included in their presentation was the fact that 32% of all foreign- born people were in poverty in the UK and that the UK and US both have an immigration population of 14%. I also liked their clear comparison of healthcare accessibility in the UK vs US. In the US there is Refugee Medical Assistance, Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Healthcare Insurance while in the UK exists the NHS, immigration fee, and private insurance, this comparison leads the group to mention the fact that the UK is more accessible when it comes to healthcare accessibility. I also enjoyed the groups clear comparison of the different education types in the US and UK, where the US includes public schools, magnet schools, charter schools, virtual schools, private schools, and homeschools, hike the UK includes grammar schools, comprehensive schools, faith schools, free schools, academies, special schools, and private schools.
The final group to present were the only two males on this trip with us, Alec and Connor. They presented on the impact of sexism in nursing and education. The main focus of their presentation was the topic of pink collar jobs, patronage discrepancies, and deviation in leadership. They explained that pink collar jobs are those that traditionally are held by women and I really liked the graph they used which illustrated the female domination in three fields. The education settings are 74% female, social workers are 84% female, and registered nurses are 88% female. I really liked how Alec and Connor explained the impact of sexism on these systems which contributed to the gender pay gap and impacts on patronage. I also thought that their slide concerning men accessing healthcare less by choice was very interesting because they highlighted the reason of “strength in silence” which is something that men do because society believes they need to be strong and should just suck whatever they’re feeling up and be men about it. Because of this discrepancies exist like the fact that men are 50% more likely to die from melanoma an suicide is the leading cause of death in mens health. I also liked how they highlighted that men occupy most leadership positions and that leadership can be a perpetuator of sexism. I appreciated that they included the reasons why women may not occupy these leadership roles like the fact that women feel as though a leadership position would conflict with their family time and child care as well as the fact that there is a lack of community connection in which women feel as though they can’t compete with men in these leadership positions and feel like they shouldn’t compete with men.
Overall, I really enjoyed everyone’s presentation and am extremely proud of how much we’ve all grown during this week!
Cheerio BCU!!
