A year has now passed since I graduated with a First Class Masters in Physics and so much has changed that I’m struggling to work out where to start.
I guess I should begin by recapping how this whole process started, so let’s rewind half a decade(!) to the moment when I first arrived at Glen Eyre halls in 2011, weighed down with suitcases and boxes and feeling thoroughly daunted about the next four life-changing years that were ahead of me.
I began, like many people, as a slightly timid but enthusiastic fresher, who was unsure of exactly what to expect. However, within days I had settled into my halls and within weeks I was thoroughly immersed in student life.
Throughout my time at Southampton I met a lot of new people and was exposed to a lot of new things, including blogging, the bizarre sport of Tchoukball and the even more bizarre world of quantum physics. However, my most important discovery was the field of medical physics, which, with a lot of hard work and perseverance, I managed to secure a job in after I graduated.
New Terrace in Glen Eyre Halls – my home in first year.
After a long summer break, which included trips to Amsterdam and the New Forest, I embarked on my chosen career. I am now a trainee medical physicist in an NHS hospital on the Scientific Training Programme and I have discovered that no-one seems to know what we do!
Medical physics is a broad area of healthcare science, which, as a broad generalisation, covers the use of radiation for medical purposes, including everything from creating radiotherapy treatment plans to testing x-ray equipment. It is a greatly varied job and one that patients ultimately rely on, even if they don’t realise it!
Having fun testing a UV cabinet looking like a riot officer.
My training follows a similar structure to that of a doctor’s; I have a long list of competencies and assessments to complete over three years, which relate to four rotations in my first year (these are ionising imaging, non-ionising imaging, radiation safety and radiotherapy), before I specialise into one of those four areas for the remaining two years.
I am currently undertaking my third rotation out of the four and when January comes I have chosen to specialise in imaging with ionising radiation, which encompasses work within both nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology. I also have the opportunity to go on an elective; a 4-6 week work placement of my choosing, which can be anywhere in the world, so long as I can relate it back to clinical science! I am currently thinking along the lines of radiopharmaceutical research, development and production, but the options are limitless!
After three years of training, which includes another masters degree, I will have my final practical exams and I will then qualify as a state registered medical physicist – it’s a long and hard road, but I am more than up for the oncoming challenges!
Medical physics arts and crafts – making a radioactive test object that can be imaged on a gamma camera for one of my nuclear medicine competencies.
My job also involves bits of chemistry and biology – these are samples of broth I prepared to assess my aseptic technique when dispensing radioactive liquids.
My job involves a lot of testing medical imaging equipment, like this MRI scanner.
On a personal level, the transition from being a student to being an adult in the 'real world' has been one that I have enjoyed. One of the best changes is receiving a paycheck at the end of the month, making a new group of friends and realising that my time at the University of Southampton taught me many of the skills that I have needed in my professional life.
Since I graduated I have left home and moved into a lovely flat with my girlfriend in the quaint town of Haslemere, which lies on the borders between Surrey, West Sussex and Hampshire. Southampton is therefore not too far away and over the past year I have not been able to stay away! I have been fortunate in that I have friends who have stayed in Southampton and given me the perfect excuse to come and visit my old haunts, including Jesters, The Cowherds and, of course, the two Portswood ice cream parlours!
Highfield Campus in the sun on my last visit to Southampton.
When recently visiting the University and the surrounding city it has been hard not to feel overwhelmed with nostalgia. I felt it the most while walking around a sun-bathed Highfield campus, seeing all the student hubbub and feeling tempted to revert back to being a student and enjoying it all over again!
Therefore, my advice for anyone going into their last year at university is to really make the most of it – join a new society, get involved in everything you can and make use of all of the career resources that the University offers. However don’t feel pressured to focus on careers, because your final year of studying should still take priority. I only applied to two jobs in my final year, because they were the only opportunities I was truly excited about. Don’t waste your time on applications that don’t excite you, because you can’t replace passion and you should be following your dreams!
And finally, to all the new Freshers who are about to embark on their own Life at Southampton – I envy you! You will fall in love with Southampton and your time will fly by!
Thank you Southampton for everything! And thank you for reading this blog.
James
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