Occupational Therapy students bowl up success through GCU Engagement placement

Two GCU students have helped introduce young Glaswegians to the world of occupational therapy.

First year students Isabel Bothwell and Katie Houston teamed up with GCU Community and Public Engagement Officer Susan Grant for a two-week placement in January. They embraced the opportunity to learn more about community engagement before delivering three sessions at Wicketz cricket hubs in Govanhill, Pollokshields and Springburn.

Isabel explained more about the placement and Wicketz programme, which is aimed at young people aged 8-19. She said: “In our first year there’s a placement called “Role Emergence”, which is a bit different to the usual occupational therapy placement - it’s non-clinical and assigned by our Module Leaders. We went in and spoke to Susan, who explained everything we’d be involved in. We also spoke with two students, who had completed community engagement placements in the past, to see what their recommendations were for sessions.”

Isabel added: “There’s a partnership in place between the University and Glasgow Wicketz Club. It’s obviously based around cricket, but the young people involved also get life sessions delivered to them courtesy of GCU. Dietetics students have previously given workshops on healthy eating and Psychology students did one on mental health. It’s a great way for the young people to learn about future careers that they may not have heard of.”

Before providing an insight into their area of expertise, both Isabel and Katie were responsible for carrying out risk assessments - and even got the chance to sample some of the cricketing action.

Katie said: “It was really interesting to see them all work together. They were split by age which made it competitive and a good way for them to develop their teamwork skills. We actually got to play a bit of cricket but I wouldn’t really say we were much use!”

Despite their cricket skills not quite being up to the mark, Isabel and Katie did manage to get into the swing of things when it came to their sessions.

Katie explained: “Isabel focused on strength and balance through beanbag races, and I highlighted the importance of hand-eye coordination by getting them to keep a beach ball up in the air for as long as they could. It was all about showing how these activities could enhance their skills, which will benefit them personally and in terms of their cricket.

We also got them to fill out a questionnaire at the end and a lot of them put down keywords like ‘strength’, ‘balance’ and ‘coordination’, so they were obviously picking up on what we were teaching them.”

Those taking part in the sessions weren’t the only ones picking up new skills for the future, with both girls admitting they were delighted to have been involved.

Isabel said: “It was really good experience and I learned a lot that will benefit me for placements later on in my course, and in my future career!”

Katie added: “I think Isabel and I were really chuffed at how it all turned out because we weren’t initially sure how it would go. My confidence has definitely grown as a result and I’m now much more comfortable speaking in loud areas, which is so important for me in the long-term.”

Find out more about GCU’s community and public engagement work

By Ross Clark         
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter