Shorna Besa
- Course studied: BA in Health Studies with Applied Social Care*
- Year of graduation: 2023
I chose to study at the university because there was the option to do a joint honours degree at the university, which is not a common course option in England. I came from doing Health and Social Care at GCSE level, so I wanted to expand on my knowledge through a degree in these disciplines. I also decided to choose UON because the modules and content that were offered took my interest. Whilst studying, I enjoyed Health Studies more than anything because the modules helped me to gain knowledge and extend my knowledge further on areas that I learnt from previous education. The content was something that I could not just apply to my professional career, but I could carry the knowledge on within my personal life. Ethics was a huge module that has helped me to navigate my role as admin within mental health. There are so many aspects to ethics that help me and my colleagues make informed decisions based on the service users that we come across, especially when their case may be more complex. The biggest things that have come up are confidentiality and patient autonomy.
Outside of just the learning, my lecturers were extremely supportive throughout my degree; this enabled me to stay grounded throughout my studies. Moreover, if I had any problems, my lecturers were more than happy to go through things with me to help me. This made my university experience a lot better.
As well as studying, I also took part in extra-curricular activities by being a student ambassador. This allowed me to be able to learn how to interact with individuals in a way that encouraged them to choose our university, through going to UCAS fairs and interacting with prospective students and parents. I was able to improve on communication skills as well, through doing tours around the university and answering questions and queries that anyone had regarding the course that I was doing or what the university provided.
By studying this course, I was able to discover that I really enjoyed Public Health through one of the modules that I studied. I decided to apply for a Master’s in Public Health and I will now be starting that in September of 2023. Almost immediately after I completed my degree, I got the opportunity to work with NHS Talking Therapist in Northamptonshire as admin. Despite mental health not being my strong suit, I decided to take on the role to have the opportunity to work within the NHS, while gaining experience in a field that I have never really engaged in within healthcare. The job can be challenging but it has also been rewarding to say the least. From learning how interior systems within the NHS work to suicide prevention training, the chance to learn has been endless. I plan to move into a more public health career path, in line with my Masters’ during my degree. I want to focus on more genetic and reproductive health within the public health sector, especially as I have recognised a huge gap within this area. My biggest hurdle that I currently face is moving out of Northampton to continue with my career progression.
Lastly, any advice I would pass on to others is that “taking no risk is more risky than taking no risk at all’. My time studying had its ups and down and it was a rocky road, but I made it.
* We no longer run Health Studies or Applied Social Care, but we offer Health Sciences BSc (Hons) and Social Care and Community Practice BA (Hons).