Hi team! I’m Dawn, (sort of) 3rd year Audiology STP – I’ll explain that later. I wanted to share my experiences particularly in regard to seeking support for the course with chronic mental and physical health issues, and neurodevelopmental diagnoses. While you might be directed to various support organisations and services, it’s not always clear what each can support you with!
Continue reading “When a bubble bath won’t cut it”
Hi, my names Estelle, and I’m a new co-editor here at STP perspectives. I’m currently in my first year of the Clinical Microbiology STP. My studies and work experience have all been in Microbiology and Medical Microbiology.
This blog is about how I’ve survived the first six months of the STP. It will cover:
First things first – a belated congratulations for gaining a place on this highly competitive training scheme. This is certainly an achievement not to be ignored! You will have had a couple of months acclimatising to the training scheme and your new home. For some of you, this may be the first time you have moved away from home, for others it won’t be, but will still require you to adapt to not only a new job but a new location too. This short post will offer some first-hand tips to aid settling in, now that winter is creeping in and the dark evenings are getting longer.
Let’s take the positives
Continue reading “STP Support | New Beginnings”
This week (9-15th May) is Mental Health Awareness Week and this year’s focus is on loneliness. According to recent figures from the Mental Health Foundation, ‘One in four adults feel lonely some or all of the time’.
Unfortunately this is something that has become a much bigger issue over the past couple of years due to Covid, and we have likely all experienced loneliness to some extent during the pandemic.
Continue reading “STP Support | Loneliness & the STP”
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.
Continue reading “STP Support | Navigating the STP with a Complex Mental Health Condition”
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.
Continue reading “STP Support | Navigating the STP as an Introvert”How many times do you ask or get asked that a day? How many times do you answer honestly? Increasingly throughout my STP training I’d reply “yeah, fine thanks, are you?” when really I was far from it.
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.
Continue reading “STP Support | Keep Calm & Carry On”
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