Physio dreams of ‘Biggar’ opportunities thanks to volunteer role

A Physiotherapy student is taking the opportunity to gain valuable experience alongside her degree at GCU.

Niamh Jopp was inspired to go to University after watching a Six Nations Rugby game, and now finds herself at the heart of the action with Biggar Rugby Club.

She said: “I was watching on television with my family and one of the players got injured. The physio ran onto the pitch and my mum said ‘that’s something you could do’ and I basically thought ‘yeah, why not’. I then started doing my research and realised it was a possibility.”

Fast forward two years and Niamh now finds herself settled into life at GCU where she’s had the chance to develop her knowledge of the human body and hear about the different injuries that can affect people from all walks of life.

Niamh said: “Our coursework in first year was mostly focused on anatomy and we concentrated a lot on the joints in the legs and arms.

“We’re also actually encouraged to get experience outside of our studies but it’s challenging to secure anything that isn’t an actual placement. It’s difficult because you want to get yourself out there and gain practical knowledge, but securing anything as a student isn’t easy.”

Luckily, Niamh persisted and managed to secure a role with Biggar Rugby Club - allowing her to put the theory side of her degree into practice.

“I’ve always had an interest in rugby, mainly through my dad who’s been watching it forever,” explained Niamh.

“I’ve definitely got more into the sport as I’ve got older. I just thought I would contact Biggar and see if I could get involved with them in some way. I messaged on Facebook and then kept on at them because I really wanted to do it. I then eventually messaged the head coach.”

Niamh’s enthusiasm clearly paid off and she quickly found herself getting the chance to develop her knowledge of sports-related injuries.

“I basically got asked to go along to training straight away! I got there and spoke to the physio for five minutes. The first player then came in and the physio told me I was to sports massage him – so I was definitely thrown in at the deep end, but that was absolutely a good thing! I’d started my sports massage course in June, so thankfully I knew roughly what I was doing.

“The different topics we had covered in first year around joints and muscles really helped me because that’s obviously what comes into play with injuries on the rugby pitch.

“I’ve since been to one match and shadowed the physio. We were going up and down the touchline and she was telling me to go on the pitch when she went on the pitch. There was an ankle injury that day for one of the girls and it was pretty bad – she couldn’t actually walk. There was also a head injury as well, which is taken very seriously in rugby.”

As well as getting the opportunity to develop on the pitch, Niamh’s involvement has also led to opportunity off the pitch.

“The club have put me through my medic training with Scottish Rugby, and I’m now passed the first part of my first aid course. I basically had to do some online training modules and I then had to complete a practical session in Edinburgh which focused on things like concussion and CPR.

“It means I can now be a physio at matches myself if I wanted to, but I’m going to wait and get a bit more experience shadowing the actual physio at Biggar first!

“There are two physios at the club and there are some games that they just can’t cover. Biggar have two men’s teams and a women’s team, so there are plenty of opportunities there for me.”

Niamh is delighted with how far she’s come since first discussing the idea of a career in physiotherapy with her mum, and believes her volunteer role with Biggar can only continue to benefit her in future.

She said: “Learning in the classroom at University is really helpful to get that general understanding but I’ve always been someone that learns better actually getting out and experiencing things – it’s just the type of learner I am. I do think working with Biggar will make a difference to me when it comes to doing my exams.

“It’s definitely been a bit of a full circle moment because when I saw that physio on the television, I realised that was what I wanted to do. I now find myself operating at the amateur level and I’m hoping one day I can be that person on the television working with the Scottish Rugby Team.”

Find out more about the BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy course at GCU here

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