RGU Alumna Emma shares her top tips to make the most of your healthcare degree, mainly through volunteering, and how her advice applies to students on other courses.
I believe that going to university is about more than just your grades and that gaining experiences outside your curriculum gives you valuable knowledge you would not typically learn, and boosts your self-confidence. Having recently graduated with a master’s in Physiotherapy, I wanted to pass on my experience in making the most out of my degree. Even though this is focused on healthcare, the general message should apply to all degrees, so keep reading to find out more!
Qualifications & Continued Professional Development
Healthcare roles are always developing, and it is important to keep track of your knowledge. I found that completing CPD with RGU physiotherapy society helped me gain confidence in my interviews which (luckily) secured me a job on my first try!
Being part of the RGU Physiotherapy Society has given me the opportunity to learn about topics that aren’t always covered by my course. Last year, the society learned about the stigma surrounding Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) and the role of a private sports physiotherapist.
No matter your degree, there are always online resources and training opportunities to gain additional certification and you would never expect where you could end up using these skills.
Healthcare degrees can lead you towards multiple specialities, so it is impossible for your course to cover them all. I decided to complete qualifications in Sports First Aiding, Mental Health Awareness, Kinesiology Taping and Strapping alongside my course to improve my skillset and even gain work opportunities around my studies.
As a healthcare student, it can be tricky to balance work around study and placements but because I completed my First Aid and Sports Taping qualifications, I gained paid work experience in sport. This gave me the opportunity to first aid for my local rugby club and be hired for the Scottish Open Volleyball Tournament, helping look after over 1000 competitors from across the world.
There is always something that can go wrong working in healthcare. By completing these, I am more confident in risk assessing and emergencies in my working life. If you needed any more convincing, there is nothing funnier than bright pink k-tape on a rugby athlete and hoping they don’t accidently wax their legs trying to peel the tape off after a fixture. On the plus side, I can always keep an eye on my clients when I can see their colourful tape halfway across the pitch.
Opportunities on placements
I have always learned better on placement than I have in a classroom, but when you are worried about “doing perfectly” or contemplating your next exam, it can be difficult to make the most out of your placements.
Remember, you can always ask to push you out of your comfort zone. For example, I went on placement in Skye during lockdown, and also organised a paediatric placement for my elective.
On my last placement, I got to get involved in the ‘End PJ-Paralysis’ initiative which aims to reduce the time inpatients spend immobile and in hospital gowns to improve humanisation and discharges from hospital. This involved the small tasks of taking audits and decorating the ward whiteboards. This helped me score well on placement. It also gave me the opportunity to be seen as not “just a student”.
Shadowing opportunities are also amazing for giving you a better understanding of other professions. For example, I watched a Speech & Language Therapist assess a neonate baby try their first feeds to make sure they were not aspirating.
Regardless of your healthcare degree, always seek these opportunities as it can help you appreciate other MDT members. By speaking up, I have also had the opportunity to watch surgeries, acupuncture, injection therapy and get to practice with new forms of electrotherapy.
Volunteering within your profession
If you know anything about me, you will know I am a serial volunteer and as much as it did lead to spreading my time too thin, I have since figured out how to balance my commitments. I developed my non-clinical skills in physiotherapy by joining the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy’s student reference group as Scottish Officer and Co-Chair. This developed my leadership early in my degree, gaining me connections within the CSP and an understanding of how I could better physiotherapy education.
If you are too shy to volunteer at RGU because you will know too many people (like me) then this is a great opportunity to meet new people and try something different where you don’t have any pre-conceptions.
By saying yes to new opportunities I got to write multiple times in the CSP frontline magazine and takeover the @cspstudents social media to create content for them. I also developed my knowledge by getting free entry to the physiotherapy conference, led a stand in the virtual conference room and moderated a few sessions. I never would have expected to gain these skills when I started my degree at RGU!
Volunteering within your course
If you don’t have much time to commit or you’re wanting to start small, I would recommend helping with interviews or Open Days as a student. In my course, this is usually advertised through Microsoft Teams or emails. This can involve demonstrations to potential applicants, offering tours and answering questions about the course.
This reminded me how lucky I was to get into a competitive course. Research shows it is easy for healthcare students to develop an “imposter syndrome” where you feel like you know nothing. But through these experiences, I have proved to myself that I am more capable than I think and has inspired me to consider teaching in my future career.
This is a rarer opportunity, but there is also the chance to be involved in research studies during your time at RGU, usually as a participant. This helped me explore the research aspect of my degree and also helped me understand some methodology and ethics before starting my dissertation. I helped out with a pilot study for pulmonary rehabilitation which also helped my knowledge with my acute care module. This helped me develop the structuring of exercise classes and teamworking with other students.
Things to remember
Overall, my advice is to make the most of the short time you have as a student even if you are unsure where to start. You are a student, you are at RGU to learn. Yes, it is an addition to your responsibilities, but I can honestly say that my mindset and grades have been better because I put myself out there.
RGU has supported me in my volunteering and even named me RGU:Union Volunteer of the Year. There is always a role somewhere to get involved. My only regret is not getting involved sooner!
My tips are:
- Keep an eye on your emails, and subscribe to the Union’s volunteering emails.
- Speak to your lecturers if you are keen to help in University events.
- Explore your profession and additional qualifications.
- Find out if there’s any part-time work within your profession (e.g. working as a bank healthcare support worker or as a first aider).
- Subscribe to any newsletters from your regulatory body.
- Take a lead in group activities in your university modules.
Related blogs
The benefits of volunteering at RGU from a student’s experience
Volunteering at RGU – Everything you need to know
RGU students transforming the community with volunteering
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