World News
Miss England 2019 Returns to Work as Junior Doctor to Help Fight COVID-19
When the coronavirus outbreak hit many parts of the world, Miss England 2019, Bhasha Mukherjee, knew that it was time to return to work as a junior doctor.
“It wasn't a tough decision,” Mukherjee said. “I've been to Africa, Turkey, and India was the first of the Asian countries I was going to travel to. After India, I had several other countries that had to be cut short because of obviously the coronavirus. I knew the best place for me would be back at the hospital.”
Mukherjee plans to specialize as a general practitioner in family medicine when she finishes her training.
Fox News reported that Miss England 2019 graduated from the University of Nottingham two weeks before she was crowned in August. Just a day after winning the title Miss England, Mukherjee “began her first day at work at Pilgrim Hospital Boston-Lincolnshire before traveling to the Miss World pageant late last year.”
While Mukherjee had “sort of a dream summer” planned that was filled with sponsored charity trips, the death rate continued to increase. She was hearing from her colleagues back home that there was a need for medical workers.
Answering the Call to Help
Bhasha Mukherjee, who was crowned Miss England in 2019, has returned to the United Kingdom from overseas charity work to continue her career as a doctor amid the coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/Ht6ofIQLCp
— CNN (@CNN) April 6, 2020
Even though she always had plans to return to her medical career this August, the need for help made the beauty queen “return to work in the first place,” she said.
“Two or three weeks ago I was hearing about these really long shifts and that my colleagues were covering various parts of the hospital and taking on responsibilities we didn't have before. I really wanted to join in the task force right away.”
Fox News reported that Mukherjee says she has some fears before getting back into the emergency room. “I don't know if I'm psychologically ready for the death toll and if patients do pass, how do you detach yourself without blaming yourself? Those are the thoughts that are going through my mind,” she said.
More than getting back to work earlier than she planned, Mukherjee also started a petition urging for National Health Service (NHS) staff to receive at least a 50 percent discount in housing costs.
“It's scientifically proven when you do an act of kindness it activates the happy sensor in your brain. It's a whole different feeling of being able to sit next to someone, give them that support and to feel needed. Those were the biggest reasons for me as to why I went into the medical field,” Mukherjee said.
“Thank you for the attention, love, and support. I think more of this should be happening. For anyone reading this, if you know a doctor or a key worker, just reach out to them and tell them thank you. This started happening to me before I even got back to the United Kingdom. It really makes a big difference in terms of morale for key workers,” she added.
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