The University Diaries

This is the first in my new series: The House Diaries! Anyone who knows me vaguely probably knows how ready I am to move my bum into my own house. I have probably been ready to move out since before I went to university, and every year since then I am more and more ready. I struggle living at home with my parents due to the lack of space, freedom and privacy, and for my mental health and well-being, it is really clear that I need to live in my own space doing my own life things. To start out, I am a university student, student paramedic and have multiple jobs although currently (early 2019) I am in a rubbish position because I am in the process of changing jobs, but my old job finished a month ago and its taken months for my new job to start so I am majorly struggling for income. I am in a long term relationship with my boyfriend who is in the process of qualifying with a teacher and he currently has a teaching bursary and a contract ready for next year. We are both quite low mainten...

Once you are over the honeymoon stage of your degree - those wonderful first few weeks where you cannot wait to read your textbooks and read up on everything - the degree marriage life becomes real. Three years feels like an awful long time whilst disappearing in a flash, and quite honestly, I feel like I have been ripped off a bit. If you love every second of your degree life, probably do not keep reading, this could turn out to be a bit negative. I never wanted to go to university. I have always been of the mindset that I want to work, earn my own money, buy a house and live my life. University felt like far too much of a commitment that would get in the way of things I loved. I decided that I wanted to go when I was set on becoming a physiotherapist. I had gone to open days and sat in talks, which is where I heard about the Paramedic Science degree. Since I was small, I wanted to be a paramedic (as my parents were in the police doing 'exciting' jobs, combined with my love ...

Interviews can be very daunting! The pressure mounts proportionally to how much you want the job too, not helping interview nerves! Here are the things I have found to help me be successful during job and educational interviews. Dress for the job you want I am sure that some people will disagree with this, however I wholeheartedly believe this to be essential. If you want a job as a professional, you need to dress like one. The interviewers first impression is likely to be of how you look, and the way they respond initially will set the mood. This means, if you are interviewing as a healthcare student, student nurse, student paramedic you need to dress as though you are. Some interviews can bring unexpected segments, so you may need to demonstrate CPR, and that does not look great in a skirt. Obviously wear what you look comfortable and smart in and what makes you feel confident, however if your potential job is going to require you to roll around the floor, you may want to demons...

Today is my 21st Birthday and here are 21 things I know from having lived for 21 years. Enjoy 21 thoughts from my rambled brain. 1. You do not need to wash your hair everyday. Find a hairstyle which hides your grub and wear it with confidence. 2. Get up when your alarm goes off and get working. Workout, eat, answer emails, write an essay. Everything feels better if you have done it before 8am. 3. Fuel your body with real food. Most items are better for you if you do not have to take them out of a packet. 4. Use your freezer! Made too much food? Freeze it. Not going to eat some stuff you bought? Freeze it. It is a time saver, a money saver and a waste saver. 5. The simple action of just lighting a candle makes you feel better. 6. I need the responsibility of looking after something. I cannot imagine my life without a furry friend or a fish. Saying that, if you can't, then just look after a plant. Start off with a cacti if you are worried about your plant skills. 7. Putting o...

Be the boss of your own life in 2019. Get ready to own yourself and feel incredible. Boss your studies, boss your self-love, boss your health and boss your finances. I'm excited to share the ways I am making myself the Danii-Boss, the Girl-Boss and the University-Blogger-Boss in 2019. Eat 'yo Greens In 2019, 'ain't nobody got time for': bad skin, poor hair and nails, and coughs and colds. I am packing my diet with fruits and vegetables. If you read my previous post, one of my 2019 goals was to be healthier and lose weight, and in my mind I want to be strong and shredded (throwback to 2015/16). Generally I prefer vegetables to fruits in the winter, so I've started off by making soups. You can put so much into soup, and make so many portions and then eat so much of the soup that there is nothing better than soup, in my opinion. In fact, talking about soup just makes me want to eat some more soup now. Fruits obviously are great too, however they do contain more...

Happy New Year! Happy 2019! So, 2018 had its ups and downs, and I feel more myself than I've felt in ages. Time to review 2018; the good, the bad and the ugly. Enjoy. ACHIEVEMENTS I like to count all achievements, no matter how small! I must add that I'm quite competitive, especially with myself, so I'm hoping that in 2019 I do better than this list! Passed my motorcycle test Rescued a child at work Completed in two cheerleading competitions in Nottingham and Birmingham Wrote two, almost three essays Did CPR on a real person (a few times, and no ROSC unfortunately) Smashed my OSCEs (obnoxious - sorry not sorry), with 99% in my basic life support exam Sailed in our RS 400 for the first time (and capsized within five seconds) Passed my first year of university with a first! Hugely reduced my alcohol consumption Became a fully fledged Sea Scout leader Completed ten weeks of ambulance placement in year one, and five in year two TRAVEL In the first six mon...

Hi, just as a little intro I am a second year Paramedic Science degree student, currently on my first placement of Year Two. The featured day is a brisk Saturday in November on a placement shift with a crew that I have not worked with before. Most of my shifts are either earlies (starting between 6 and 7am for 12 hours) or lates (starting between 6 and 7pm for 12 hours). This was a weird shift time of 1100 to 2300, which is annoying as it straddles two meal times as you only get one meal break. Surprisingly enough, I actually quite liked this time, however I do prefer really early shifts as you still have a bit of the evening when you get home. This account is completely true! The variety of patients fluctuates day to day, and this was one of the more interesting ones, but this may also be as it was a Saturday. The times are as close to accurate as possible. We had fewer patients than a usual shift, but travelling times and patient contact time was greater than normal. We did no...

So, I am half way through my first trimester and I thought it would be a good idea to give an update because I have had quite a few fellow students ask how I have been finding it! I am glad I am actually helping others with my experience! The first month in second year was a ball.  I felt on top with everything. I was working full time and managing a couple of days in uni and everything was grand. I wrote up my lecture notes before the lecture so I could sit, annotate and absorb during the lecture. I found the information and understanding it was stretching me, but in a good way. I kept up! Even in the labs I seemed to be doing pretty well, especially in comparison to the previous year. I was answering questions that others were getting wrong, and I took part in one scenario (with another person as a crew on a truck) where my lecturer said we did the best out of everyone he had seen. I definitely needed this confidence boost as I was feeling a bit deflated as I always felt beh...

If you follow my Instagram account, it will not be a surprise that I love a list or two. I use these lists for everything! If I am having a particularly busy day, my list will breakdown my day up to the minute (including eating, showering and chilling the brain!). Other times, my to-do list is far less urgent and I use it to accomplish tasks over days or even weeks. However you wish to use your to-do list, they are valuable and I do not think I would be anywhere near as productive without one. To-Do List Tips To-do list productivity comes from perseverance and practice. Whiteboard To-Do List Separate your 'must's', your 'should's' and 'could's'. Try to work on the more urgent tasks first. If you are feeling completely unproductive and you recognise that you will procrastinate the 'must' work, try to start something you will enjoy. Either do a small task, or start and set yourself an hour time limit where you then do the 'must...

The Practice Assessment Document (PAD) will rule your life during your 10 weeks of placement in your first year of uni. Here are my tips for passing your PAD, and how to make it easier. Enjoy! What is the PAD and what does it include? The PAD is your evidence for completing certain skills whilst on placement which is pass or fail. Your mentor (or PED) has to fill it out identifying which jobs you have been exposed to, and how you handled them. They can grade you as assisted (needing help), minimal supervision (the odd prompt here or there) or independent (woo, go you! Did it safely all by yourself). It includes skills from your Skills Passport and adds in other essential skills too, such as: airway management, cervical spine immobilisation, fracture splinting, IM injections and signposting to alternative pathways. There is are patient assessment pages, which patients fill out about how they feel you treated them, and there is a personal review on your time on placement. Your me...