An ongoing part of Dosti is to provide culturally appropriate training and development for Medical students from Leeds University, Social workers and existing professionals within mainstream mental health field.

Placement 1:

Article by medical student Sarah Soryal

My time at Dosti has helped me to signify the importance of services which are available to certain groups in society who may specific cultural needs. These groups help people who may be feeling isolated from society to gain in confidence, make friends and become part of a community, all of which is extremely important in improving their mental health.

I found this placement extremely useful in relation to the study and practice of medicine. Firstly, I gained experience in communicating with people who speak little or no English and using a translator. I also found it very rewarding to be able to help the women understand medical conditions that either they, or someone else close to them were suffering from through knowledge gained during my course.

I was intrigued to discover the many ways that Dosti was helping to improve the women’s health. The availability of art projects, swimming classes and healthy eating awareness sessions impressed me. I was particularly interested in the enthusiasm the women had for the yoga sessions which opened my mind to the idea of alternative therapies in maintaining and improving health.

All in all I really enjoyed this placement and I am very thankful for the experiences that it has given me. I am sure that the skills I have gained will help me greatly in my future career in my medicine.

Placement 2:

Article by Mariam Bibi

I thought Dosti was extremely useful to women who need emotional support. I found that the organisation was constantly looking to improve services. For instance the Mel Milaap will soon be open on the weekends to provide a service on days other than weekdays. Dosti offers a very important service to women that could not necessarily be provided by doctors or other healthcare professionals within the NHS. At Dosti women are offered immense emotional support and by attending the groups they gain confidence as well as increased self esteem and independence.

This is achieved through activities that Dosti provides. I think that this is a very important service in terms of healthcare as the majority of Asian women had poor or no English and hence were unable to independently attend the doctors or make appointments without the assistance of family or friends. Women who attend are often alone, confused and depressed. I found that many women self referred and hence the doctor may not have knowledge of their mental health. I felt that if an organisation like
Dosti did not exist, many women would continue to live in a state of depression.

I found the experience insightful because I had to translate what my colleague was presenting in Urdu which I found was not so easy as I had expected as it is quite difficult to translate exactly and so there was slight variation in what I had translated. I think this is important to note because as a doctor I think it is very important to understand precisely what the patient’s concerns are. Overall the experience has come to be invaluable and I am grateful for the opportunity provided by the medical school and the admirable staff at Dosti.

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