What our students say
A day in the life of a therapeutic radiography student
Sophie Main, 20, is in her final year of the BSc (Hons) Therapeutic Radiography
Hi Sophie. Tell us about your experiences of the course...
“I’d always wanted to be part of the caring profession but couldn’t quite decide what I wanted to do until I read through Kingston and St George’s prospectus and found therapeutic radiography.
“The course started in September and the first term was a common foundation programme, where we studied alongside people doing other health disciplines such as physiotherapists, nurses, medics and midwives.
“After that we started to learn about the most common cancers. There's a variety of work: some of it is facts and figures regarding different cancers, as well as learning about patient care and communication. Some of the work is undertaken in groups and some of it is guided study, where you're given a subject and time off to go away and learn about it independently.
“The clinical placements are great. You get a real feel for what life will be like once you're qualified, as well as putting the theory you've learnt into practice. I always understand the theory a lot more after being on placement because I can see the way everything works.
“I've thoroughly enjoyed the course (even the stressful times ended up being positive ones – and that’s the truth). I’ve not only developed a career I love, but in the process had the best time of my life and met some fantastic people.”
Can you give us a taster of a 'typical' day at university?
“A typical day at university in the third year is 9.30am to 3pm, three days a week.
“This morning’s lecture is learning more about the cancer care path. We explore the reasons behind the ways in which patients act when dealing with their emotions. The learning styles used in the third year are geared towards discussions about experiences we've had and how we've dealt with them. The lecturer also adds some other topics into the discussion that we may not have considered. This is great as it makes us think ‘outside the box’ which in turn makes us well-rounded radiographers.
“At the end of each lecture we're given some guided study for the following week’s lecture. Guided study is set to make us go away and explore the subject in our own way so that we gain a better understanding. Doing guided study before the lecture also gives us a chance to ask questions and clarify any areas that we're unsure of.
“Lunch is about an hour long. I join a couple of friends and grab a bite to eat, then head to the library to find some books for the guided study. Books found, now time for a girlie gossip!
“The afternoon lecture is on radiotherapy errors. This lecture again takes the form of an open discussion. I believe it's important to be open about errors that occur because that's how others learn and how errors get rectified. We're in groups for this topic and in several weeks’ time we'll be asked to give a small presentation to the class on particular subjects set by our lecturer. This topic has made me more aware of the types of errors that can occur within radiotherapy and made me think more about what I'm doing when on clinical placement, so that I can reduce the likelihood of errors.
“We also have lectures on other subjects such as 'interprofessional management'. This subject is designed to get different disciplines to understand each other’s role in the patient’s care.”
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