As a medical student, I usually spend my days in university learning all about ill health and the various treatments used to manage health problems. However, one aspect of medical education that can sometimes get sidelined due to the vastness of information we need to learn, is the impact that lifestyle and our social life can have on our wellbeing, and the importance of social connection. One population disproportionately affected by loneliness and social isolation is older people. I decided that for my Leadership in Action project I wanted to target these issues.

In order to achieve this, I collaborated with LifeCare Edinburgh, a charity which supports older people living in the Edinburgh area to thrive at home and remain active in their communities. A particular passion of mine is music, and I think we can all agree on the capacity of music to lift our mood and connect us with others. The aim of my project was to craft and deliver a series of music workshops to target social isolation and loneliness in the older population of Edinburgh. These included singsongs, discussions surrounding music and musical instruments, and listening to music. 

During my six weeks, I worked between two day centres run by LifeCare, one in Stockbridge and the other in Portobello. Both centres offered a unique experience for me and challenged me in different ways. I started off at the Stockbridge centre, where I worked with larger groups of clients, some living with dementia and others with limited mobility. Before entering the centre for my first day of workshops, I felt a mixture of emotions; while I was excited to deliver the workshops I had planned, I was also quite nervous at the prospect of walking into a room of strangers and trying to connect with them. As someone who historically has avoided public speaking in all its forms as much as I possibly could, this definitely pushed me outside of my comfort zone. Luckily, the workshops proved a hit from day 1, and I had great support from the staff members at the centre who helped me to facilitate the workshops and offered me advice on how to tailor the workshops to the clients. 

As I found my feet at the centre, I was delighted to witness firsthand the benefits of the workshops. Songs sung together as a group would stir up old memories for some, inspire others to get up and dance, and most importantly led to lots of smiling, laughing and connection. I would also help out with other activities at the day centre, from Bingo to board games to chair yoga and exercises, each day was dynamic and varied. I got to know the clients quickly and looked forward to arriving at the centre each day for more fun, connection and interesting conversation.  I learned so much from each of the clients, through their stories and advice and their ability to deal with the challenges of life with such positive attitudes. It reminded me of how much we have to learn from each other, and prompted me to think about the ways in which older people can be stigmatised or ignored in society due to their age. 

While I was sad to move onto the Portobello centre and say goodbye to all of the clients in Stockbridge, I was excited to have a change of scenery and provide my workshops in a new setting. The second centre was affectionately called 'the Cottage', a fitting name as the club was much smaller and had a very homely feel. The Cottage was also only a ten-minute walk from the lovely Portobello beach, which coupled with a good spell of weather made it easy to acclimatise. I felt more confident in delivering my workshops at this stage of the project, however one important learning I had was the importance of communication and the ability to adapt; what would work with one group might not work with another, and working with smaller groups required me to alter my approach to giving the workshops. The two weeks I spent at the Cottage to round off my LiA passed by in a flash, however once again I was taken aback by how quickly I connected with the clients and how much I learned from my short time there. 

I could not have asked for a better LiA experience, and I am very grateful to the clients and staff at LifeCare for giving me such an enriching opportunity, filled with learning and connection. I also feel very proud of the workshops I constructed which have added to the repertoire of activities that the staff at the centres in Stockbridge and Portobello can offer to the older people they work with, and will continue to be used to foster social connection and boost wellbeing going forward.