Throughout the Covid-19 crisis HR have been issuing an ‘RCSItogether’ bulletin weekly to collate helpful resources and recommendations for staff during this challenging time. You can find all issues to date below:
23rd March – A Taste of What is to Come
25th March – Time Management, BbC, Bodyclocks, Neuroscience of Sleep, Mobility & Birdwatching
27th March – Mindset, RCSI Discover, Parenting, Financial Health
31st March – Happiness, Respiratory Research, Caring for Carers & Poetry
3rd April – Brain Health, Scientific Writing, Frontline Pharmacists, Foodie Content & More
7th April – Virtual Meetings, Peer Observation, Covid-19 Hub, Library Resources, Apps to Meditate
9th April – New skills, Obesity, Goodie Bags, Enjoy the Arts, Tranquil Photos & A Poem!
17th April – Lifestyle Medicine, Lancet Resources, Family History and Gardening
May 1st – Rethink Stress, Young People, Workplace Wellbeing Day and RIMS
8th May – Walking, Keeping in Touch, Vaccines and Decision Making and wonderful image of RCSI
15th May – Storytelling, Organisational Culture, Research Impact, Dementia Supports
22nd May – Mental Health, Leadership, Parental Leave and Innovation
29th May – Curiosity, Uncertainty, Supporting Returning Colleagues and Bloom
5th June -Compassionate Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Being an Ally and Next Steps-Feedback Sought
12th June – Carer’s Week, Procrastination, Deaf resources and Innovative Research
19th June – Storytelling, Organisational Culture, Research Impact, Dementia Supports
3rd July – Managing Overwhelm, Altmetrics, Wellbeing Guide and Carers Resources
10th July – Handling Conflict, Laughter, DOH Podcast and Staycations
17th July – Imposter Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis Research, Womens Mental Health and Self-Compassion
On April 28th we kicked off the #RCSItogether webinar series which brings relevant internal experts together to share evidence based approaches to supporting our wellbeing at this time. Topics include:
- Positive Psychology in Difficult Times.
- Supporting our Children’s Mental Health
- Sleep and Immunity
- The Importance of Movement during isolation
- Emotional Intelligence
The first webinar in this series ‘Basic principles of positive psychology: tools and techniques for difficult times’ , was presented by Prof Ciaran O’Boyle from the Centre for Positive Psychology and Health on 28th April 2020. This webinar looks at what positive psychology is and how it relates to our health, the principles of positive psychology and what authentic happiness is, how to develop a growth mindset and identifying your strengths. View the recording here.
The second webinar ‘COVID-19: How to talk and listen to the young people you live with’ was presented by Dr. Trudy Meehan from the Centre for Positive Psychology and Health on 5th May 2020. During this webinar Dr. Meehan discusses the importance of us as parents to create a sense of calm through context, control and connection, how that relates to our children and the young people we live with and how to interact with them about this crisis. She highlights key developmental milestones and the need to think about who our children are as individuals in order to best provide what they need. Watch the recording viewed here.
The third webinar “If you don’t snooze, you lose” presented by Dr. Annie Curtis from the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Science. We all know we need about 8 hours of sleep, but most of us don’t get that amount. The media is littered with articles on Top Tips to get a full night sleep, so why are these tips not working? This session takes a different approach , where together we look at the anatomy of sleep. Why is sleep so important for our mental wellbeing, and importantly in this pandemic, why is sleep so critical in order to keep our immune system in shape. Finally, we will explore how we can harness our body clocks to ensure we get a full night of Zzzzz’s. Watch the recording here.
The fourth #RCSItogether webinar, “Lets Get Physical”, which was presented by our colleagues in the School of Physiotherapy. This webinar looks at activity across the spectrum including reducing sedentary behaviour and increasing light to moderate physical activity levels, maintaining high levels of physical fitness, resistance training and exercise for children. You can find the recording here and the also the slides used which includes movement suggestions Lets get physical 19th May 2020 slides
The fifth #RCSItogether webinar was on the topic of Emotional Intelligence, led by Prof Eva Doherty – special thanks to everyone who joined the webinar and if you couldn’t make the live session you can view a recording here. Eva reminded us of the power of noticing and recording 3 Good Things every day for 14 days as a boost for our mental health – a nice exercise to do individually, within your families/friend groups or even as a team.