By Dr Ashna Basu

My name is Ashna Basu, and I'm a first year Psychiatry Registrar in NSW, Australia. I'm a published researcher in mental health and sexual health, work as a strategy consultant, teach students at multiple universities and speak at conferences/events about diversity, mental health and burnout, and career pathways. As an advocate for equity in medicine (and society), I serve as president-elect of Medical Women's Society of NSW and also advocate on behalf of my colleagues through the NSW Association of Psychiatry Trainees, and the Australian Medical Association (NSW). My other passion is governance; I sit on the board of The 100% Project - an organisation working towards gender balance in Australian leadership by conducting research - and I'm a co-founder and director of PinkSparrow, a governance advisory not-for-profit organisation.

COVID was obviously a difficult time for so many people. When it first started, I noticed people around me at work checking their phones, scrolling the news, desperate for some clarity and information. Case numbers were rising, restrictions were changing daily and there was palpable anxiety as a result. To help ease some of the anxiety and allow people to focus on their work without having COVID news in the back of their mind, I started a daily Whatsapp newsletter called The COVID Digest. I collated relevant news for healthcare workers in my district - at a nationwide, statewide and local health district level - and sent it out in a single summary each afternoon. My hope was that people's brains could get some rest in the knowledge that the information they needed to know would come to them. It was well received, with people remarking that the service allowed them to switch off from the news and get on with their day! It eventually grew to encompass all healthcare workers, their families, and later spread to 1700 people across the state from various professions. When I started the Digest, I never envisioned it would continue for almost two years! It's more or less dormant now, but I'm so glad I got to play a small role in helping people feel less stressed during the general COVID chaos.

The Digest showed me that it's within my control to take tangible steps to help those around me - you don't have to wait until you're a Big Dog. I was a Term 1 intern. I'm not an Infectious Disease or Epidemiology expert, but I know that I have an affinity for quickly summarising information in a way that's easy to read and understand and focused on harnessing that skill to help people around me. A lot of the time, I hear people say "when I'm a consultant, I'll..." but I think that mentality means we miss the chance to create change as we go; I'm a big proponent of finding ways to make change as you move up the system.

If you would like to reach out to Ashna, you can do so through her Twitter or LinkedIn