Question and Answers from students

Q&A Mahfuz Rahman – 2nd Year Therapeutic Radiography student

1. What are you currently studying/practicing?
   I am currently a second year BSc student studying Therapeutic Radiography at London South Bank University. I also practice as a student Therapeutic Radiographer at Queen’s Hospital in Romford.
2. Why did you choose to study this profession?
   I initially discovered this profession through another very similar one; Diagnostic Radiography.
3. What is the thing you like most about studying this profession?
   I think anatomy is the most interesting subject in this course as it helps you to appreciate the body. It is amazing how organs function and are structured in specific ways to allow our bodies to survive and adapt. It is also important as any abnormalities often lead to illness and disease occurring, and in some cases cancer. I also enjoy oncological management, which is cancer in a specific organ of the body (i.e. breast) and studying its epidemiology, aetiology signs, symptoms, and treatments, among other areas.
4. What excites you the most about the learning/the job?
   I enjoy patient interaction above everything else. It involves accompanying them on their cancer treatment journey from the first day right until their last. Although the radiographers treat patients, they also have other duties. As a student we can speak to patients for a longer length of time and this can create a bond which always helps the patient during the duration of the treatment. For example, I was with a senior radiographer giving first-day chats to new patients and I was asked to show them around the department as the radiographer had to attend to a current patient. I spoke to them and got to know them quite well. A few weeks later after I had finished placement, I saw one of the patients again on the bus and we both began to chat about how things were going, and it was a nice feeling to see the different radiotherapy has on their lifestyle.
5. What would you say to other young people who are thinking about getting into the health profession?
   I would highly recommend anyone who is thinking of working in an organisation where the sole aim is to serve those in ill health recover as best and as quickly as possible, to do a bit of research and ask their local hospital if they can shadow radiographers for one day. It is a truly rewarding experience and it gives you a glimpse of how you can use your skills and knowledge to benefit those who require it.
6. How practical is your day to day?
   Therapeutic Radiography is very practical on placement. Once you are confident in dealing with patients, the senior members of staff allow you to set up patients on the treatment couch under supervision and they guide you to best practice. As we treat somewhere between 25 to 30 patients a day, it is very easy to pick up on the practical aspect of this job.
   

Q&A Jonathan Brocklehurst – 3^rd Year Podiatry student

1. Why did you choose to study this profession?
   A flexible profession which was expanding and developing in an exciting new way for new students joining it.
2. Is the profession anything like you thought it was?
   Better, it is really showing the world, through clinical practice and education, the importance of foot health in people’s everyday lives.
3. What is the thing you like most about studying this profession?
   It promotes and values student development and training to shape the future of the profession.
4. What excites you the most about the learning/the job?
   New research and technologies used increasingly more in Podiatry make the future look very exciting for training Podiatrists.
5. What would you say to other young people who are thinking about getting into the health profession?
   The Podiatry profession gives you an edge in healthcare that is unparalleled: a specialism that is essential to facilitating the mobility for every human on the planet.