Goodbye 2015

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It is that time of year when I get to stop and reflect on the past year and what a year it has been! I turned 40, graduated and started my first job as a qualified radiographer. Twelve months ago I was knee deep in research for my dissertation, which I loved and if I am honest I actually now miss.  I was also preparing to embark on a twelve week clinical placement and knew that my final weeks as a student were getting closer.  But the hard work paid off and I was awarded top marks for my dissertation, achieved first class honours for my degree and awarded the prize for best dissertation on results day. When I first started on this new career path I never for one moment thought I would achieve so much and there were moments when I did wonder if I would finish.  But I did it, little ol' me, passed with flying colours!  

The icing on the cake for me this year came in the form of a job offer from the hospital at which I trained.  Whilst many people were surprised I didn't chose to work closer to home, I made a career choice and wanted to be part of a busy department, working with a team I knew.  Certainly the past six months have been incredibly busy with the transition being fairly smooth from student to radiographer and never have I regretted my decision to stay where I trained.  

So 2015 was definitely amazing regarding study and career.  On a more personal level, I am thankful to have the continuing support of Andy.  I know that there are days when he and the children wish I didn't commute so far, that I was here when they woke up in the morning or when they returned home from school.  But they have been incredibly accepting of this new way of life, that mummy has a career that means she isn't always there.  Although there are still days when Kitty asks if I can work from home again, I know it will get easier for all of us with time.

As a family we have passed more milestones - Andy turned 50, Amber became a teenager, Connor passed his driving test first time, Connor and Jack had an amazing set of AS and GCSE results, Connor received an unconditional offer at UEA to read history next September, Amber passed her Grade IV flute exam, Lucy started her GCSE years, Kitty performed her first flute solo in the Christmas concert.  Not a bad year really!

After such an amazing year I am truly thankful and am looking forward to seeing what 2016 has in store for myself, Andy and our children.  One thing for sure is that we will grab opportunities with both hands, enjoy and cherish every moment.  

Until next time, take care.

Zoe

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First Two Weeks As a Qualified Radiographer

Well I have survived my first two weeks and can honestly say that I love my new job.  No longer being a student is strange but good and will take a while to get used to.  Returning as a qualified member of staff to my training hospital has proven to be beneficial, knowing my way around, already knowing staff names aswell as knowing how to use Varian equipment.  So far the transistion has been smooth and as of last Friday I am no longer supernumerary, which in itself is a milestone.  A scary milestone as I am now responsible every time I set up a patient and beam on! 

Many newly qualified's take the summer off before starting their first job, enjoying that last summer of freedom before many years of working.  However I chose to just have the three weeks, as I really wanted to start earning money but also because everything was still fresh in my memory.  Often returning to placement after the long summers meant I take a week or two to get back in the way of working. That's the problem with being a mature student! 

So I am now just waiting for my new uniform and name badge to arrive and then I think I will really feel like a real radiographer!

Until next time, take care.
Zoe
xo

Finished My Degree!

Well that's it, I have finished my degree. Yesterday I worked my final shift as a student radiographer. Emotions only got the better of me when I said my thank yous and goodbye to my clinical lecturer.  Over the past three years she has been there, when it all got too much, when I really wasn't sure I would make it to the end.  Without her I am not sure yesterday would have happened, that I actually finished.  To have a good clinical lecturer is a blessing and I actually feel I should have handed her a bottle of good champagne rather than flowers yesterday, as she wasn't just good she was incredible and feel very fortunate to call her a friend and to be working with her very soon.

Deciding to start the degree took time, there were days when I walked in to the hospital and questioned myself, my decision to retrain.  Taking any degree is hard, but taking a health degree can be incredibly tough.  Deadlines loom when you are in the middle of a ten week placement block, the job you do is stressful and you are constantly learning during every shift you work. Throw homelife in to the mix, teenage tantrums, GCSE's and AS exams, new schools, as well as everybody getting used to me not being around so much.  Nevermind giving up an income and getting used to commuting to placement. Whilst my clinical lecturer was there when I had a wobble, Andy and the children were my support at home.  Without encouraging words, a shoulder to cry on, an understanding look when I was particuarly stressed with my dissertation, I may not have made it.  Andy is my rock and his support these past three years has been incredible.  Even on my most stressful days my children made me laugh, reminded me that they were one of the reasons I chose to retrain.

But I did it, I finished and three weeks today I will qualify.  When people ask what I do for a living I can proudly say, 'I'm a radiographer'.  

Until next time, take care.

Zoe

xo

  

Retraining : The Final Push

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In just six weeks time I will have officially finished my course. All assignments will be submitted, final exams completed, clinical placement finished and competencies achieved.  Yet this seems like the hardest part.  Having handed in my dissertation in the middle of March, I am struggling to get motivated for this final push.  I have one assignment to write, a verbal exam, or OSCD as we call them and four weeks of clinical time left.  With only three competencies left to complete, which will be done the first week back after assessment week, I can just get stuck in without worrying about achieving any competencies.  

Knowing that I am almost there is exciting and scary, especially as I have applied for my first job.  So now I just need to get motivated, complete the final requirements, then I can enjoy some time at home before I start my new career.  

Have a lovely weekend and until next time, take care.

Zoe

xo

My Word For 2015

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The last day of the year, a time to reflect, take stock, make plans.  Something I have been doing for the past few days, especially as I have been thinking about choosing my word for 2015.  The new year will be one of changes and big birthdays, exciting times and new adventures.  With this in mind I have chosen EMBRACE as my word for 2015.

As I finish my degree in June and embark on my career in radiography, it will be a time of new beginnings, even more so if I start my career at a different hospital to my training hospital. Embracing this new beginning, my new career and the changes it will bring will make it all seem a little less daunting.  March will see the start of a new decade for me, as I turn 40.  Just another twelve weeks in my thirties seems a little scary, but I am also feeling ready for this new era.  I hope to embrace being 40, being a little more grown up, looking after me, my body and my mind.  My thirties found me finally feeling comfortable in my own skin. So now I want to continue with that but also to embrace the changes that will come in my forties.  Health and fitness have become more important to me and I want to make time for exercise, meditation and eating properly.

But 2015 isn't all about me, there are more big changes afoot.  Andy will turn 50 in the summer, another big birthday that has got him thinking too.  Being happy and healthy are always at the forefront of our plans and I know he will start his fifties as he means to go on, already planning some half marathons for the year.  Connor will turn 17 later in the year which means he can learn to drive and by this time next year he will have submitted his UCAS application.  Jack will take his GCSE's this summer and will start sixth form in September.  As a parent this all seems a little scary, but I want to embrace these changes that being a mother to teenagers involves.  As for my gorgeous daughters, Lucy chooses and starts her GCSE courses in 2015, Amber will become a teenager and Kitty will turn 9, the last year of single digits.  

So 2015 already holds a lot of promise and I want to embrace every moment.  Whatever else comes our way I know as a family unit we will stay strong, making the most of opportunities and enjoying life.

I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy new year and hope 2015 is full of promise for you too.

Until next time, take care.

Zoe

xo

A Levels and Retraining

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Today is A Level results day here in the UK.  Time to see if all the months of hard work paid off or maybe if winging it actually worked.  It's now twenty one years since I opened that dreaded yet longed for brown envelope, to the relief that I had done enough to head off to Birmingham Uni. For some, today will provide the opportunity to take the next step in their retraining journey.  Perhaps you have had to take A levels whilst juggling home and family so that you can take a degree to start a new career. Or maybe today with all the talk of A levels has got you  thinking about taking a degree, retraining, starting a new journey.  Many universities still have places left in clearing, so maybe you could take that leap, now, today.  Make that call that you've been wondering about for ages.  Maybe you want to take that first step on to the degree ladder and are needing A levels, so look at your options, now, today.  There are many options from online courses, local colleges offering evening classes or Open University modules.

So take a deep breath and make that first step to your new career.

Until next time, take care.

Zoe

xo

It's Never Too Late To Start Again

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One of the biggest fears for mature students is being too old.  Just imagine turning up to that first day of induction week and being the only person over thirty in the room.  Well erase that thought right now.  Just about every course in the country has a good mix of students, old, young and every age inbetween.  I worried about being too old to be a student again, but that fear was quenched on my very first day.

So stop using your age as an excuse.  It really is never too late to start again.

Until next time, take care.
Zoe
xo

Retraining - Studying As A Parent

Nobody said retraining would be easy but being a parent makes it doubly hard.  Not only will you still be trying to be mummy or daddy but you are also a student, with deadlines, maybe clinical placements. Suddenly life as you know it is very different.  There will be days when you wonder if you are doing the right thing, moments of despair, often in the middle of the night, when you actually think it would be easier to just stop, to go back to the old way of life, when it was all so much easier.  But was it? There is a reason you have chosen to retrain, to be something else.  

Believe me there have been days when I have wanted to quit, to return to my old life.  That is when I remind myself why I am retraining, why I wanted to be something else.  Yes I have this blog and still freelance a little, perhaps it's my comfort blanket. But in all honesty I love my new life, which sometimes I need to remind myself.  Right now I am in the depths of revision, assignment writing and clinical practice.  The long commute adds to my tiredness, but I know that in four weeks time all my assignments will be handed in, all my exams finished and just a few more weeks on placement.  I will have almost finished my second year, in thirteen months from now I will be qualified.  These are the carrots dangle in front of myself in those dark moments in the middle of the night.

So whatever life throws at me I will persevere.  My children have adapted to our new life, although I know they aren't so keen on me not being here as much.  Just because I am doing something else that means I am not home as much doesn't mean I love them any less.  I still adore them, am partly doing this for them.  To help them financially through university, to pay for driving lessons.  But above all I like to think that I am showing my daughters that women can make changes, they can be more and yes we can juggle family and career.

Until next time, take care.
Zoe
xo

Planning a Career Change - Taking Those First Steps

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So it's almost the end of January and you have trudged your way through another month of work.  Or maybe your children have headed back to school and you are seriously thinking about what you want to do, now that time is a little more available.  Making the decision to retrain can be very easy, most people know what they want to do.  But the bravest part of the decision is to actually do something about it.  Taking that leap of faith onto a new path can be the scariest thing ever.  For me the scariest part was walking into a room full of strangers on the first day of my course.  The moment I stepped into that lecture room, amongst seventy other future radiographers I knew my decision to retrain was now very real.  Few of us knew anyone else, we were all in the same boat.  Some fresh from sixth forms around the country, some like me, changing career. Yet we all had one thing in common, we were all brand new first year students.

Making that decision to retrain is one of the best I have ever made.  Yet it wasn't easy and certainly didn't happen overnight.  I was cautious, I deliberated, I kept persuading myself that I was too old to retrain. Obviously the last statement is only relevant if I was trying to enter a career that only younger people were allowed.  I spent months considering what I wanted to do, what I could do.  Options were limited by finances and location.  With a large, young family I had no intention of relocating for the course that sounded the most exciting.  Neither could I afford to fund a more vocational course.  Brainstorming became a big part of life.  Sheets of paper were filled the ideas, some crazy, some doable.  This is the most vital part of your retraining plans.  These initial ideas will be insightful and don't be afraid to let your imagination run wild. Scribble down all the things you love to do, all the types of jobs you would like to consider.  Imagine you are in Class 2 again when Miss Smith asks 'what would you like to be when you grow up?'.  This initial stage of planning your future career is vital.  

So if you are considering retraining I urge you to sit down this weekend and brainstorm.  Get a large sheet of paper and start planning your future.  Stop talking, take that first leap because it is better to be scared than bored!

Until next time, take care.

Zoe

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