Social Sciences graduate,Selina Dudley chats about her placement experience.
I have learnt a lot on my year in professional placement in the Patient Experience department of Mid Essex Hospital. There have been challenges to overcome as there are in many jobs but there have also been many moments that have been really useful in helping me to learn new skills and have new experiences.
One of the things that I have enjoyed the most has been the fact that my experience has been so hands-on. I haven’t been the intern stuck at the back doing photocopies, I’ve been in charge of running a whole survey in the hospital, I’ve organised a whole patient listening event for twenty members of staff and twenty patients, and I’ve helped in every single area of the hospital.
The good thing about being situated in the Patient Experience department is that I haven’t been confined to one area of this organisation, I’ve been on every single one of the wards, I’ve helped run a stand in the main atrium of the hospital and I’ve been in a meeting with the Managing Director to discuss a new patient feedback board and I was the only person in the meeting who wasn’t a Head of Department!
It’s definitely been a learning experience and I have learnt a lot about thinking on my feet and it’s also been very rewarding to work closely with patients, to see the relief on their face when they can see that they have been listened to and their contribution is valued. Even something as simple as walking down the corridors and helping someone find their way to an appointment, it is always rewarding when they give you a big smile and you know that you’ve given them a positive opinion of the staff.
In terms of applying the knowledge that I have from my degree; I have been the only person in the department who has been analysing the patient feedback that we get from our Patient Listening Events. These are events where we talk to patients one on one, and the patient tells their story of their whole journey within the hospital over the course of their treatment and a staff member handwrites their story down in the patient’s own words. I then type these stories up and analyse the qualitative data that is produced in order to get the best analysis that I can and to provide the individual department with the clearest areas for improvement and the areas which the patients have praised the most.
I think I have helped my department with the skills that I can bring to the table that other members of the team aren’t so strong at. If I had the chance to do my experience again then I definitely would take up the opportunity.
Discover more about Social Sciences at Kent
Taught by world-leading experts, you’ll learn concepts and theories which help you to understand social structures and how they affect daily life from a variety of perspectives. Training in research methods will allow you to collect, understand, analyse and interpret different kinds of data.
- Read what our students think of their experience at Kent – Student Experience Stories
- Explore our Social Sciences degree programme in the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social research