It was all my fault....

I cursed the weather and made it go really wet and cold and miserable. How? Well, Sunday and Monday nights were so hot and humid that I couldn't sleep. I tried using the fan, but the rattling drove me mad. So on Tuesday I ordered a new quiet fan from Lakeland, and it's not stopped raining since. The fan has arrived and is fab, really quiet and I'm sure it'll keep me lovely and cool should we ever have hot weather again.

Other news this week - I survived my OT & Physical Trauma exam. I took it in the "special" room - there were just the four of us and the invigilator. I took in all my equipment; writing slope, bookrest attachment to hold the exam paper and bottle of water (with a few drops of rescue remedy in it) and my painkillers. I wrote a stupid amount (approx 18 sides of A4) and managed to use up all the ink in one of my new pens doing so. I had an extra 45 minutes to allow me to take rest breaks, but I actually left the exam room with 40 mins to spare. I could still have thought of more things to write, but my hand had gone very numb and I just couldn't be bothered to do anymore. The rumour is that we'll get the results on Wednesday... I'm picking Angela up from college that day as she's coming back home with me for lunch and Flip and Flop stroking, so I can cry on her shoulder if necessary.

I skived off college on Tuesday as I slept so badly (partly due to the heat and partly due to my neck pain). It was the FP4 placement briefing - I haven't done FP3 yet! Apparently I didn't miss anything and I was able to collect the paperwork the next day.

Wednesday was an IPL (inter professional learning with the nursing and radiography students) session. I think it was the first IPL session that I've actually enjoyed! The first half of the morning was taken up with three presentations about research. The first one was one of the radiography professors explaining some recent research he'd been involved in about how experience and training affect chest x-ray reading. The second presenter was a research assistant in a project that was looking at the social and health impact of the recent floods in Carlisle. The final presentation was to me the most interesting - partly because although the presenter was from a nursing background it related more to OT. He was looking at Wolfensberger's theory that by giving undervalued people roles that are valued by society (eg home ownership, parenting) automatically improves their status in society. What was interesting was not so much his findings (nope it doesn't always work like that) but the way he explained the research process and how it was okay to not have a clear idea when you found a topic you wanted to research of how the heck you could do it! After coffee we split into groups to discuss the presentations and had some really interesting and passionate conversations about them!

Thursday saw the launch of another third year module. We go straight out on placement in September and aren't back in college until November, so they're giving us the information now. The scariest part of this module (which is Professional Practice) is that it's assessed by a 45 minute viva. Eeek! I also found out on Tuesday that I got my first choice of research supervisor for my dissertation.

Finally, I got a letter from the NHS Bursary people today. They've approved my DSA recommendations in full! So not only will I get all the gadgets to help me, but I'll also get allowances for computer/printer consumables, photocopying, extra books and internet access. I think I'll be phoning the suppliers first thing on Monday!