STP Support | Navigating the STP with a Complex Mental Health Condition

This post includes the opinions & experiences of the author, who wishes to remain anonymous.

Like a lot of the people posting to this blog, I never thought I’d get onto the STP either. When I applied, I almost balked at the competition ratios. I felt like I didn’t deserve to be there, and doubly so after how I’d felt the interview went. But I did get in – to the training institution I wanted, nonetheless. And it was one of the biggest surprises of my life.

STP Support | Navigating the STP as an Introvert

This post is the opinion and experience of the author

Before starting the STP, I was warned of the challenges that I would face: balancing university deadlines with workplace competencies and learning new clinical skills alongside settling into a new team of colleagues. But nothing could have prepared me for the challenges that I have been through, seemingly for having an introverted personality.

STP Support | Reflections of an STP Alumni & Member of the Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) Student Trainee Network

The NSHCS has a duty to better support their students and address the additional challenges often faced by those from diverse backgrounds

This post is the opinion and experience of the author

I remember when I received the email saying I’d been accepted onto the STP – I nearly screamed right there in the middle of the train carriage. I thought I’d flopped the whole application after those dreaded arithmetic and logic tests…but I got through to interview stage…and I couldn’t believe I’d actually been offered only one of five positions for direct entry Neurophysiology in the country!

STP Support | Not in the mood for competencies?

This post is the opinion and experience of the author

It was around 10 years ago now that I joined the STP in medical physics. It was a very interesting time: for me as it was my first full-time job and in a field I’d wanted to work in since I’d heard about it; and also for the healthcare science community. The STP was brand new; this was the first year it had run in most specialisms.

STP Support | So, you want to talk about mental health on the STP?

Trigger warning // depression, suicide, suicidal thoughts

This post is the opinion and experience of the author

Truthfully, I never thought I’d get onto the Scientist Training Programme.

I believed it was for people who had PhDs, Masters, or loads of experience in the specialism. It was the stuff of legend, where only the most knowledgeable and pioneering young scientists of our generation would be granted a place. The competition ratios were terrifyingly high. The Student Room threads were filled with individuals applying for the third, fourth, fifth time.

STP Support | Keep Calm & Carry On

The email I received stating I had secured a place on the STP was a euphoric moment, throughout the summer I was so excited for September. I knew I wanted to be a clinical scientist; all through my academic studies I never felt I had found what I wanted to do (does anybody?!) but, when I read about the STP, it sounded perfect and I was so motivated to get there. It took me a few attempts to gain a place and so when I did, I really did value it.

I ❤️ the NHS, I left the NHS

Today the Academy for Healthcare Science emailed my STP certificate of attainment, the only step remaining is registration with the HCPC and I will be able to call myself a clinical scientist.

Continue reading “I ❤️ the NHS, I left the NHS”