MSc Physiotherapy student, Toni Robertson, talks about her experience studying at Edinburgh Napier
I finished my Sports Science degree at Edinburgh Napier in 2013. The thing about Sport Science was there were lots of career opportunities available and that gave us so much choice, I didn't actually know what I wanted to do.
I had previously thought about doing physiotherapy, and I was lucky enough to get a job as a physiotherapy assistant which allowed me to get a bit of an idea of what was involved. I did that for five years and I really enjoyed it.
It just so happened that at the time I thought about going back to do a masters, the new course was opening at Napier, so I put forward an application for it and here I am!
“My masters in Physiotherapy helped me broaden my view of the occupation and develop my career”
My master's in physiotherapy helped me to broaden my view of the occupation, see all the different areas that are involved, to build on some of the skills I had already learned as a physiotherapy assistant and to help me develop in my own career and go that bit further with it.
The course is very much aimed at you becoming a qualified physiotherapist at the end and the whole course is there to prepare and guide you for what would be expected of you when you finish.
“The open evening helped me learn what was involved in the course and the kind of things I would be studying”
I had actually heard about the course through the employer that I'm with just now because they had been in touch to get feedback about the course.
There was an open evening where I learned a bit more about what was involved in the course. It went into a bit more depth about the fact that it's a multidisciplinary course and we would be doing some work with Occupational Therapy and Social Work. It was really interesting to hear about it and get a bit of guidance on what to expect, so that when we did put in an application, we knew what we were applying for.
“I had been out of education for a long time, but it was the best move I’ve made”
When I was successful in gaining a place on the course, I was incredibly proud of myself, but quite apprehensive about the fact that I was making that big jump away from full time working to going back into education. I had been out of education for a long time but actually, it's the best move I've made.
“The course had a range of students at different stages in their lives”
On the course, we had quite a range of students. We had a couple of people who had been out of education for a while and we had people coming straight out of their undergraduate degree. People were at very different points in their learning but the programme lead was very good at bringing everyone together.
“We’ve been really lucky at Edinburgh Napier to have such great facilities and a course that is put together so well”
The skills that you learn and the knowledge that you gain from the MSc Physiotherapy course means you can't wait to then go and put it into practice. That's why the clinical practice education that we get, giving us the chance to go out into different environments, is great.
“The highlight from my masters was being taught by specialist physiotherapists and having access to really good facilities”
The highlight of my masters for me has been having specialist physiotherapists from different areas coming in and teaching with us.
The simulation centre has also been a highlight. We have the simulation dummies and the wards; no other university has that.
We're able to replicate a clinical environment when we're learning.
“Taking that big jump into a masters degree has been worth the benefit at the end”
I suppose when you're thinking about doing your masters, there's a lot to consider in terms of financial life, and work-life balance, but certainly from my experience, it has all been positive.