Nessah's Internship at Partnership for Young London

Nessah presenting at London South Bank University

Hello everyone! My name is Nessah and I have been completing an internship with Partnership for Young London for the past 5 weeks. During this time, I have been involved with and learnt so much about all the different research projects that happen at PYL and in this post I’ve briefly outlined some of the key contributions I have made.

I have worked on the launch of Amplify, a regional youth voice research project research project that aims to create a more fair and inclusive approach to youth engagement. Some of the things I worked on for this project included mapping existing regional youth voice research projects and summarising their aims, approaches and impacts. I also collaboratively designed and drafted the peer researcher recruitment pack that was sent in last week’s PYL weekly update.

Last Monday I attended a focus group at the Redbridge Town Hall as part of the Health Care-Experienced project. I was able to hear directly from young people about their experiences with the health services which was both powerful and eye opening, this gave me a valuable insight into the barriers and inequities that exist within health services and reinforced how important it is to listen to lived experiences especially when shaping policies and practices.

I had a chance to practice my public speaking skills at the BFC conference last Friday where I delivered a short speech on what I’ve learnt about peer research and I decided to relate this to medicine, I really enjoyed carrying out research for and writing up the speech.

I also attended a virtual focus group on the Welfare Reform Bill with peer researchers from the Young Residents in Partnership. It was inspiring to observe such a passionate and informed discussion among these young people, some of whom referred to lived experiences of the welfare system, their discussion highlighted how deeply interconnected policies are with health and wellbeing and this has definitely deepened my interests in current affairs and policy issues that impact public health outcomes.

Throughout my internship at PYL, I have strengthened my research skills and a gained a deeper understanding of systemic factors that affect young people especially in the context of health and wellbeing. It has been a truly formative experience and will definitely shape the way I approach my future career in the medical industry.