Facilities available at Swansea University
I’d like to start with a shout out to those reading this blog and I would like to introduce myself to you. I am Rin, an Osteopathy student at Swansea University. I made the decision to come here about a year ago – Swansea was one of the 4 Unis that offered my course across the UK, but now I can say choosing Swansea was the best decision I could’ve made! I couldn’t be any happier with how life at Swansea is, it is way better than I had expected when I stepped foot on the flight to make my way here, from Kenya.
As an Osteopathy student, there are some great facilities you benefit from. You have the theoretical side of the course as well as the practical side of it. There are a number of theoretical lectures designed to teach you the anatomy and physiology of the human body along with teaching based on the history and legal implications of Osteopathy. While for the practical side of the course, you work on each other as patient models and practitioners. You are taught all the different techniques and relevant material required in a large suite that contains a number of plinths and pillows to work with. The practice room is large enough to accommodate all students, and it includes all the necessary items you would require, such as skeleton models, charts of the muscles in the body and models of different organs to ensure you understand the concepts well. It is also available for you practice in your own time if it is not being used by another class, however if this is the case there are two extra practice rooms next to it that almost everyone uses for revision and further practice. If these are also in use, you can always ask a tutor and most are willing to let you have a plinth in their office or any free room for you to practice!
Another part of this course involves working in the student based clinic, whereby you work with patients and complete a set of clinical hours. The Clinic is newly built, state-of-the-art and includes three practice rooms and a breakout room. During your clinic hours you’ll come across a variety of cases, and in order to facilitate your further research on the cases, there are a range of books provided relevant to the subject in the break out rooms. It is a great environment to expand on your knowledge, and during your free time you can practice on each other which is really beneficial. Tutors are always present to help you out with your cases as well as answering any questions. An added plus point of being an Osteopathy student you get to be a patient at the clinic, through the Health and Wellbeing Academy.
I can say at this point, being an Osteopathy student is a really great thing, you get to work with almost everyone in the class and come across different people each time. The lecturers are great, always willing to help, and they have complete knowledge of what they teach – be ready to receive an answer for every question you shoot at them!
There are also various other facilities available to all students at Swansea Uni. You are able to be a part of many different clubs and societies, be a part of the sports teams and compete in the annual Varsity that takes place between Cardiff and Swansea, this comes with the added benefit of getting to go to socials and make new friends. You have the 24 hour open library at both campuses, with very friendly staff who can help you out with not only borrowing books and printing, but also with your essays, referencing and any other assignments.
Hungry? well don’t worry, both campuses have a variety of eating and drinking places, and if they don’t take your fancy then you could just pop into Tesco, Costcutter, one of the many coffee shops or the newly opened Root (Vegan) shop to grab yourself a bite to eat or plenty of other essentials.
In simple words I would say I love it at Swansea, and do not regret my choice, and I am pretty sure anyone else wouldn’t either!
