The University Diaries

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions that I received in the academic year 2018/19. I am so lucky to have such an interested and enthusiastic Instagram follower base, so this is where these questions come from as it is the best way to get hold of me! If you have any questions, please always feel free to send me a message! What year are you in and where do you study? Originally I was going to keep this on the down-low, however as every university is different it is probably quite helpful to let you guys know. I study at Anglia Ruskin University and I am now in Year 3, although these questions were asked when I was in Year 2! How do your ambulance placements work? Do you get paid? With the university route, you do not get paid unless you do a sandwich (placement) year, and I am not sure if any universities do that anymore (I know University of Hertfordshire used to but does not anymore). As you may not have your blue-light driving qualification and you are not employ

You want to go to university? Go you! I applied to five universities to study BSc Paramedic Science, undergoing English and maths selection tests, multiple mini interviews (MMIs), individual interviews and group interviews, and I received five offers. This is how I prepared, practised and performed. Choose Your Choices Wisely Check what the requirements for the course are. Be aware of what you will require to get onto the course. Not being the strongest at English or maths should not reduce your chance for getting in, but speak to the university as they will be able to advise how you can revise, or they may say that the test is not selective and purely so they can gauge what and how much support you may need. Before ruling out a choice as you think you may not get in, enquire further and see what the university can do for you, so you can do the best for them. Practice Makes Perfect Practice for the English and Maths tests using your school/college or university resources. G

Week four of hospital placements was based in a Cardiothoracics centre for my intensive care sign off.  The Cardiothoracics centre is important to me to understand as if I have a patient with a stemi that meets required criteria, I would likely be bringing them to this centre as there are only two PPCI centres in my area. Background I was required to be on this placement for three days, for 13 hour shifts.The centre is for planned procedures and emergency cases, whilst also having a really large ward for patients varying in severity from 'ready to go home' to high dependency. I was based in the high dependency part of the ward with the opportunity to end up in different departments throughout the centre, such as the waiting rooms, operating theatres and intensive care. Day 1 With another long day ahead of me, I woke up at 5am, left the house at 5.30am and arrived just before 7am. I went in and found the nurse in charge who directed me to get changed, and then to the staff

I am now Year 3, and about to go into my penultimate ambulance placement block. Preparation for placement is important for making your life much smoother whilst on shift! A smooth home life definitely takes the stress off placement. Fortunately, I live with my boyfriend, so although we live in a house (with a garden which requires maintenance) and we are always busy keeping it ship-shape, we are able to share some of the housework. My boyfriend does a lot in the house, especially when I am on placement, so I am very lucky! Food Preparation In the couple of weeks prior to placement, I cook larger meals than my boyfriend and I can physically eat. I portion them up, label them and put them in the freezer so that we both have meals if we are both busy when it comes to cooking dinner. My boyfriend is a teacher, so most of his evenings are taken up with lesson planning so we have more time together at the weekend. This is far cheaper than take-aways and ready-meals, and much healthier

Left to right: high vis trousers, purple stethoscope case, 2018/19 diary, deodorant, epaulettes, hand-cream, lip balm, hairbands, phone charger, PAD, tissues, pens and dried fruit. I have had two years now to work out what I need in my placement bag, and I think I have nearly got it down! My placement bag is a plain old rucksack, which is big enough to fit all my kit in it, but small enough to fit in the kit locker. Trust kit bags are usually long holdalls, and kit lockers were definitely not built for three of these! Here are my placement bag essentials. PPE So first off, we have our personal protective equipment.We get issued with a pair of high vis trousers and a jacket. I have never used the trousers, although I could see myself using them on a long job when it is cold, dark or wet. My trousers live in my bag (with most of the labels on them still... oops!) and my jacket lives in between my bag and just in the kit locker. I try to make sure my jacket it accessible at

The first term can be really exciting and really daunting, but do not worry, everyone is in the same boat. The important parts of the first term are to acquaint yourself with your fellow student paramedics, get settled into uni and university life and to learn the basics. Here is how to do that! At Home If you are living at university, normally universities will give you contact details for the people you will be living with so you can have a chat with them before you move in. They also normally try to put you in houses with people who are on a similar course or have common interests to you. There are also normally large group chats which are made by people on the course so that everyone can chat before they meet properly for the first time. Either look for a Freshers Facebook Group for your university or you can look on Paramedic groups on facebook, such as So You Want To Be A Paramedic. If you do not see anyone in there from your university, feel free to post nicely and people wil

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