SoR Membership

"I've got a free membership? Look at how shiny and free it is! Sign me up!"

Stardate: 91281.4

It's getting closer and closer until I start my first year as a student radiographer, and lots of information and forms have been flying about (as was mentioned in my last post). The latest has been an e-mail on behalf of the Society of Radiographers from UCAS, offering all first year students a complimentary membership. Which I plan to take full advantage of!

Now, I've already written a post concerning the Society of Radiographers, but I think it was a little vague, (so this is a little update, really) so what can students can get from it? The membership for first years starts from October 1st 2013 and finishes next year on September 30th 2014. After the first year, membership costs only £4 a month (which is actually rather cheap!)

The SoR membership benefits: 

• latest radiography news 
• a £5 million professional indemnity insurance
• professional magazines and journals
• full access to the Society's website
• an electronic portfolio to record continuing educational activities
• access to documents which will help with those impending assignments (watch out, they're coming!)
• information regarding conferences and seminars, including the annual student conference
• access to the student radiographer magazine StudentTalk
• officer visits to your university
• the SoR's Benevolent Fund - financial support for times of hardship
• Student of the Year award
• and finally, assignment publication

The membership application for first year students link was sent out yesterday, so if you haven't applied for it already, do so!

LLAP and Geronimo!

Loans and Forms and Mail, Oh My!

"Are you sure I've sent all the correct forms? Even the DBS one? What about the placement form?"

Stardate: 91276.61

One thing I've learnt since I began to receive correspondence from all the universities I applied to is: keep on top of everything they send you (e-mails included)!

You would think I would have learnt the first time around that every letter is important until you're actually at university! I've managed to lose my DBS reference number, so that resulted in a long telephone conversation chasing up my certificate's status; I managed to put the wrong postcode on my placement form, but not my student mentor form and so the problems persist! 

Considering I'm one of those people who consistently checks everyday to see if I'm the recipient of any form of post whatsoever, (nothing compares to that feeling when you get mail!) losing track of it is ridiculously easy.

So, to solve that problem, I invested in a mini-folder just to keep track of all my correspondence, and anything else to do with university: letters from Leeds, student finance, Occupational Health, the welcome packs; everything!

I'm being serious, the amount of times you lose that one important letter you need is amazing. And you always seem to find it after you need it! 

In terms of replying, try to complete and send back any forms the university sends you as soon as you can. Especially things like placement forms, as they're usually first-come-first-served based. DBS and Occupational Health forms are also important to get out of the way, as they can hinder your application and registration with the university if they're late! Honestly, you don't want to leave everything until the last minute, it takes longer to rectify!

Oh also, make a note of important dates down in diaries and post-its, just to make sure you don't forget about them. You never know, if you lose the letter, there's a note somewhere else to jog your memory! 

At least this way it's all in once place, right? It's also great to keep insurance documents with these letters. Actually, just keep everything to do with university together (clearly not your class notes... unless you don't like being over-organised... like me).

Two weeks to go until my Induction week!

LLAP and Allons-y!

Welcome Packs Abound

My face when I saw how much some of the textbooks on Leeds reading list cost!

Stardate: 91270.91

So, both the welcome packs have arrived from the University of Leeds and the time for moving into my new house is rolling around swiftly (September 17th, with Induction Week starting September 23rd)! We received information regarding the placement hospitals we could be working in, Fresher's Week, student ID numbers, an annual block timetable telling us when we'd be on placement, holiday weeks etc., a rough timetable for Semester 1 and 2, and finally... reading lists! And boy has that reading list got some expensive books on it! To name but a few:

• Medical Imaging and Radiotherapy Research
• Essential Physics for Radiographers
• Medical Imaging: Techniques, Reflection & Evaluation
• Digital and Radiographic Imaging: A Practical Approach
• Human Anatomy and Physiology

I'm tempted to invest in some of the textbooks, but as I already own Clark's Pocket Handbook for Radiographers (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clarks-Pocket-Handbook-Radiographers-Charles/dp/0340939931; reviewed with 5 stars by students) and around 5 anatomy and physiology textbooks, I may only purchase the 'Essential Physics' and one other, as from experience and advice, we can get these books from the university library.

I'm beginning to get excited about starting. I'm stuck in that limbo some of us get trapped in when we know we're on our way to new places, but aren't quite at that point of departure yet. I can't wait to get back to learning (I know I sound sad, but never mind!) and it'll be great to finally be doing what I want!

I'm still unsure whether I'm going to get myself down to any of the Fresher's Week events. I'm not much of a party animal, as I'd much prefer sitting at home with a cup of coffee watching Star Trek, Doctor Who or House! Who knows, I may push myself out of my 'comfort zone' and experience 'student life'... but it's called a comfort zone for a reason! We'll see! Maybe I'll make some good friends who'll try to convince me otherwise... maybe.

The timetable isn't too bad either. Although it is a rough one - but looking at it, I'll have Wednesday and Friday afternoons off! Not bad, not bad. The only downside to being a student radiographer seems to be the shorter holiday periods. We get about 7 weeks of holiday a year. But I'm sure it'll all be worth it in the end!

Anyway, good luck to all you other student radiographers starting this September!

LLAP and Geronimo!

Good News Everyone!

Stardate: 91230.09

Good news, everyone! 

It's been a while, but here's the final update from all that UCAS application fiasco, results etc.. I got more than expected in my results! Which means, as of this September, I will become an official Student Radiographer at the University of Leeds!

Welcome packs are being sent out soon, and the Fresher's Madness will begin again. I'll get to pick where my placement will be, and the fun will begin, and I will finally be able to start putting useful and more interesting posts onto this blogs. As we all know, I will also be writing about student life, but from a student radiographer's view.

I've even been looking at which societies and clubs I'm interested in. So far, it's been narrowed down to: the Taekwon-do club, the Chess club, the Radiography Society (RadSoc), possibly the Physics society, the Sci-Fi and Fantasy society, and finally... the Archery club! I know I won't make it to all of them, but the first 3 are a must for little old me! 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting back into fully writing this blog, and I hope I write stuff that keeps my readers entertained!

LLAP guys!

The Society of Radiographers

The Society of Radiographers was founded in 1920.

Stardate: 90983.56

Okay, so I decided that it was about time I wrote a properly Radiography-related topic. So, I decided to research the Society of Radiographers. 

The SoR represents 90% of all the diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers in the UK. Their objectives are:

• to promote and develop the science and practice of radiography and radiotherapeutic technology for the public benefit
• to promote, study and research work in radiography and radiotherapeutic technology
• to further public education
• to protect the honour and interests of those engaged in the practice of radiography and radiotherapeutic technology 

The College of Radiographers (CoR) is a subsidiary of the SoR, that are directed towards education, research and other activities in support of the science and practice of radiography. It assesses the programmes of both pre-registration courses, post-registration training and ongoing professional registration. 

The SoR issues different publications including:

• Imaging and Therapy Practice - provides coverage of the latest professional education issues that affect the day-to-day lives of therapeutic and diagnostic radiographers. 
• Synergy News - a news digest of what is currently happening in the world of radiography and wider healthcare area. It covers a wide-range of issues such as: career progression, role development, pay, research and equality issues.
• Radiography - an international peer-reviewed journal of diagnostic radiography and radiation therapy.
• Imaging & Oncology - an annual publication that will coincide with the United Kingdom Radiology Congress.

The SoR also maintains grants and awards, including:

• Overseas Placement Award - established in 1988. Supports a number of radiography placements in developing countries.
• Fellowship of the College of Radiographers Award -  an honorary title, bestowed upon individuals who have made significant contribution to the radiographic profession.
• and many others coinciding with outstanding contributions to the radiography field.

Looking into it, joining the SoR when you become a Radiography student is quite beneficial, as they offer access to magazines and journals, a downloadable document library, attendance to conferences and events, a benevolent fund and certain awards.

I'm sure when you start a university course, the SoR will be mentioned, but it's always good to look at what's out there, in terms of having a little preparation before everything begins!

Coping with Work-load!

So this film was just amazing. It was one of the things that convinced me to finish my assignments!

Stardate: 90983.56

Good evening readers!

I know you're all hoping that today's post will entail something radiography related, but once again, I apologise, but I'm limited in what I can post at the moment, due to my time being pretty much split up into college, part-time work, Taekwon-do classes, exercise sessions and then college work. So I'm a little thin-on-the-ground when it comes to radiography topics, but I promise when I start university, I will back on track. I know my main interest for this blog should be what I originally started it for, but it's also an outlet for myself, too.

Anyway, as the post image suggests, I have found my coping mechanism has come in handy greatly at the moment. College has chosen to culminate all of our final assignment deadlines on the same week, so in order to cope, I've turned to my favourite thing... Star Trek. Of course, as some of you may know, the new film came out in May. I urge you all, watch it!

But really, this post is literally about finding your way to cope with work-load. As I've been informed by many university radiography course leaders, finding a way to relax after a long day, (especially when on placement) is incredibly important for those working in health-care. It can range from anything: reading, watching TV, sports, or even rock-climbing (if that's your thing!) As long as you gain satisfaction and a "get-away" feeling from it, it's good for your mental-coping!

This doesn't just apply to those in health-care, it applies to everyone who has a sufficient amount of work and tasks they do through the week. Without relaxation, stress builds, and with stress, comes a less effective immune system. 

So in summary, don't feel guilty when you take time out for yourself! It's good for you! (It's also a brilliant excuse for a little procrastination from time to time!)

University Choices Confirmed

You can never plan too meticulously, as I've found out...

Stardate: 90944.89

Well, to begin with, today happens to be May 4th.... so May the Fourth be with you, guys! 

Anyway, I decided to not update anything until I'd finally made my final decision about universities. As some of you already know, my heart was always set on going to the University of Leeds, for varying reasons, but all the universities I applied to would have made me just as happy, as I would be studying a course I wanted to! 

It took me a good while to choose out of the other 3 offers I'd received as to which would be my insurance choice. I had a really good range of choice, but after hours/days of deliberating and really thinking hard, I chose to insurance the University of Salford.

So now all I have to do is pass the Access Course..... with 45 credits at Distinction... not setting myself any difficult targets or anything, right? But seriously, if I hadn't set myself such a high aim, I would never have ended up doing the Access course in the first place, and I'd still have been stuck in a rut studying Japanese and Health Studies. Don't get me wrong, the courses are fine... for those who want to continue a career with Japanese... Which wasn't me.

I like learning languages, it's a great hobby of mine, and I gain great pleasure from using them, but... my heart is most definitely focused on the sciences. 

But back on topic...

In about 4 months I'll be starting university. And I'll be a student radiographer. And I'll be able to write about student life properly. And how I cope with life as a student health professional! I'm still also planning to study abroad with these courses, so I'll be able to talk about what it's like to study radiography in other countries! I got that excited about everything recently I spent 2 hours researching PhD programmes... talk about getting carried away...