Jasmine - Week at a glance

Hi and welcome to ‘My week at a glance’ studying Physiotherapy at the University of Hertfordshire! 
So my ‘week at a glance’ has changed throughout all three years of Physiotherapy and also changes throughout the semester as when you are on placement your week is very different to when in lectures. 

At the beginning of each week, I find it best to plan and organise my week to ensure I manage to get all of my work done but also have a work/life balance. Before practicals or lectures, there is usually prep work to be done which may be reading certain journal articles/ pages in books or watching videos. I try to do Monday's prep work on a Sunday evening, Tuesdays on a Monday evening and so on which means I can stay a day ahead throughout the week. This is also important for me as I really like my weekends to be free so I can relax, visit my family back home or see friends. I find printing off the lecture slides and reading them prior to the session can be helpful so you are aware of what content will be covered and can ask any questions you may have. They also become a particularly good revision resource. 

Once completing the prep work, I then attend all my lectures, practicals and tutorials that I may have for my different modules. Lectures are completed with all Physiotherapy students within your year group while practical and tutorials are broken down into much smaller groups, usually about 10-15 people. A typical day may vary from 09:00-15:00 or may be 09:00-19:00, however on a Wednesday, lessons never run past 13:00 as it is sports afternoon. If you are into your sport this is great as you will most probably have matches/games but if you are not into sport this is a great afternoon to either catch up on any work or socialise with friends! The long days mean that time management is crucial! 

Prior to assessments, I usually increase the amount of time that I spend completing University work and revising and I do start to complete University work and revision over the weekends. I like to make revision cards a few weeks before the assessments so that the week prior I can simply look over them and revise. 

As I mentioned before, my week at a glance when out on placement is vastly different. The weekend before starting placement I will complete all the necessary paperwork and any pre-reading and work that the placement requires. If I have to stay away from Uni/ home for the placement as it is far away then I will pack everything up on Saturday and move into my new accommodation on Sunday to ensure I am ready to start on Monday. I find that placements can be tiring therefore during weekdays by the time I have completed placement, got home, completed any work required for the following day and had dinner…. I am so tired and need to go to bed. This means that any extra work I have such as extra reading, researching or University assignments usually get done on a weekend, however, I try to get these done as early as possible which then means I can focus on my placement only.  

My time is also spent taking part in extra-curricular activities building up my CPD (Continued Professional Development) portfolio and CV (Curriculum Vitae). Activities to get involved in include: teaching anatomy sessions for younger years, the Superhero series, visiting the anatomy lab and listening to guest speakers, just to name a few. 

Most evenings my time is split and spent both completing Uni work and playing a sport which, I find it a great stress relief and is also great for socialising. Aside from University work, I also have a few part-time jobs which allow me to earn some money but also build up some experience and skills. I usually work on Wednesday afternoons as a student ambassador for the University, two evenings a week umpiring netball matches and then one weekend a month as a sports massage therapist. This may seem a lot, but they are jobs I LOVE therefore it doesn’t feel like work for me!  

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and I wish you the best of luck!