BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography and Imaging

Meet Gabby.  Gabby was working as a radiology department assistant at her local hospital, but wanted to become a radiographer. She fulfilled her ambition by studying at Herts, and is now working in a job she loves.

Fantastic facilities

Gabby was working as a Radiology Department Assistant at her local hospital before she decided to study the BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography and Imaging course at Herts. She loved her job but when she watched radiographers at work, she knew that is what she wanted to be.

Gabby chose Herts after attending an open day with her family. She says, ‘The equipment they have there, such as CT scanners and X-ray rooms, blew us away. The lecturers I met were all kind, supportive and enthusiastic too.

‘Herts is also close to my home and everyone I had spoken to who studied there loved it. They couldn’t recommend the course enough!’

Achieving her ambitions

Gabby fulfilled her ambitions and is now a Senior Radiographer in the cardiac catheterisation laboratory at the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Gabby says, ‘Herts prepared me well for this role. Staff were supportive during the entire course, and they gave me more confidence and helped guide me in what I wanted to do. Everyone at Herts, from the lecturers to the people on my course, were lovely.’

Gabby’s advice

Gabby’s advice to current and future Herts students is to, ‘Enjoy every moment. Take every opportunity and accept all the support offered to you. Every lecturer wants you to succeed and they will always help you get to where you want to be – never be afraid to ask for help!’

Meet Isio. Isio's drive to help people led her to the BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography and Imaging degree at Herts. She is now a senior radiographer in the NHS, with ambitions to become a sonographer.

An enriching job

Isio’s drive to help people led her to the BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography and Imaging course at Herts. She says, ‘Radiography has the perfect balance between providing patient care and using jaw-dropping technology. I enjoy working alongside doctors and nurses to get to the root of a patient’s illness or symptoms, and I find the job enriching.’

Herts is not too far from London, where Isio lives, but far enough away from home that she could get the full university experience. ‘Herts has amazing nightlife, and the campuses are modern, with lots of activities and fun things to do there.’

Isio came to Herts on our Performance Sport Programme scholarship. She is a sprinter who competes in 100m and 200m at a county level, and she has also been a national champion in 200m.

Isio’s favourite memories

One of Isio’s favourite memories from her time at Herts is when she hosted a Christmas dinner and games night with friends in her campus accommodation. Isio says, ‘We all cooked different things and feasted over a few nights before we all went home for Christmas. The vibes were great, the music was great, and we got into a few heated arguments during the games. All in good fun!

‘During our degree, we would often reserve rooms in the library and study together for hours. We would then treat ourselves to dinner in the Galleria. If we had a good study session, we might have even treated ourselves to a movie in the cinema.’

Her next steps and advice

Isio is now a Senior Radiographer in the NHS. She believes her time at Herts prepared her well, as she went on placement during her course to large hospitals that allowed her to expand her knowledge of healthcare. She also took part in several group projects at Herts involving different disciplines, such as nursing, paramedic science, and midwifery.

Isio says, ‘After a few years developing my skills in the NHS, I’d like to do a postgraduate course and become a Sonographer, where I can do ultrasound scans.

‘My advice to current and future Herts students is to enjoy being a student while it lasts. Make sure you balance your academic studies with other parts of life. Your studies are crucial, but make time to socialise, relax, and look after yourself. And don’t hesitate to seek support or delegate tasks if you start to feel overwhelmed.

‘I’d also recommend attending events, seminars, and workshops outside your area of study. Networking with professionals and engaging with the broader academic community can enrich your university experience and help you secure a job.’

Meet Jordan. Driven by a passion for science and technology, he decided to move from Ireland to study radiography at Herts.

Finding his passion

Jordan had a keen interest in science and technology at school, and after doing work experience at a hospital in his native Ireland he discovered that radiography was perfect for him. His next step was to choose which university he wanted to go to.

Jordan explains, ‘I had several options. I could have stayed in Ireland, but I saw the BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography and Imaging course at Herts and was keen on it. I attended an open day and an interview, and my first experience was positive. The staff made me feel at home and everyone was welcoming. Current students were also at the open day to answer any questions I had, and we were given a tour of the facilities which are great.’

As an international student, the University’s proximity to London and its airports was important to Jordan, as it allowed him to travel back to Ireland easily to visit family and friends.

Immersing yourself

Jordan had a fantastic time at Herts, which he credits to his lecturers and friends he made along the way. Jordan says, ‘My lecturers made learning enjoyable and taught us in different ways. There were group exercises, image interpretation workshops, and lectures – and you were always encouraged to get involved in learning activities.

‘I went on placement too and the structure of it was great - it prepared me well for clinical practice as a qualified radiographer. I had a lecturer who would often check in to see if I was doing all right and I was assigned a clinical coordinator at the hospital who I could always rely on for support.’

Jordan immersed himself more in extracurricular activities during his second year and started playing rugby at Herts. He also frequented the gym and pool at Hertfordshire Sports Village on the de Havilland campus. Jordan adds, ‘Getting involved in your course or a club makes such a difference. I now live in the UK and many of my friends here are Herts graduates too. Because Herts is a campus-based university, it’s easy to make friends and meet new people.

‘This is true even in an academic sense. I will always remember graduating and being told by a lecturer that I was now their colleague, which added to the huge sense of pride I had completing the course.’

An exciting future in radiography

Jordan is now a CT Radiographer at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. He says that the future of his profession is exciting, and he is looking forward to seeing how artificial intelligence will improve treatments for patients in the future.

His advice to Herts students and soon-to-be graduates is to, ‘Be curious. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or get something wrong. Making mistakes is often where we learn the most. And most importantly, get involved and immerse yourself in your course and the student experience. Taking the initial step is difficult, but you will thank yourself afterwards.’

When I started my second year of Diagnostic Radiography & Imaging, I had it on good authority that this year would be intense because we would learn so much more and go into more detail than we did in our first year. But one thing that I was not prepared for was working on my dissertation.... well, kind of. Let me explain....

We are given a module called "Research Methods", which essentially gives us a much smaller research project to work on in order to prepare us for when we start our dissertation in third year. We learn about the different types of research that is out there so that when we do our dissertation, otherwise known as our research project, we have all of the tools at our disposal to create our final piece of work. It sounds overwhelming (and it is) but the way that it is taught allows us all to process the information in bitesize chunks. So, that leads me to what I am working on currently....

For this module, we have been given an essay question to answer, which has us looking at the different ways to conduct research for a particular subject, and analysing them to say why it works and why it doesn't. This piece of work is essentially having us work out the advantages and disadvantages of different types of research. One thing that I didn't realise before I started this module was that there are so many types of research out there in the world. To me, research is research, no? But it actually goes way deeper than I could have ever imagined.

I know that this sounds like a really exciting piece of work (yeah right), and sounds really long-winded, but the truth of the matter is, doing this type of assignment within my second year is really going to help me with my dissertation, and will have me feeling less overwhelmed by it when the time comes for me to start mine next year. Sometimes, you have to trust the assignment and the module that you have been given, because some of them prepare you for things that would have you rocking in a corner somewhere due to the sheer weight of the amount of work that you have to do.

Yes, we have other fun pieces to work on, and yes, I could have written about them, but if I'm being completely honest, the dissertation is something that most academic students cannot escape. And it's good to know that the university is preparing us for what is ahead, so that when the time comes, we will have all of the tools at our disposal to do well.

Some of you might be thinking "but why not do this module in the third year before the final research project?" Well the answer to that is there is no time. Between learning the theory that we need in order to understand diagnostic radiography, hospital placements, and exams, there is just no time. Also, it is good that we are doing this now because before the academic year comes to an end, we have to have hand in our dissertation question, and knowing the question means also knowing the type of research that we will need to do in order to get the answer.

As I mentioned before, this is a much shorter research project than the dissertation and so it has to be handed in by the end of the semester. However, just like the dissertation, we are given lots of support by the academic staff. Our tutors join us in our seminars and help us to understand the research methods in more detail by giving us research scenarios to look at and breaking them down. They are also available to us via email outside of the classroom, so when there are parts of the teaching that we don't understand, they can explain it in a way that is understandable. The staff have truly been great.

So that is what I'm working on! To anyone that is worried about their dissertation, no matter how far away it is for you, don't be! After completing this module, you will be so prepared for it that there will be no fear or hesitation. You will be more than prepared!