Societies provide AHP Day of celebration for students
GCU Students’ Association’s Occupational Therapy (OT) Society and Physiotherapy Society have brought students together to celebrate the University’s community of Allied Health Professions (AHP).
AHP Day takes place annually on the 14th of October and unites individuals from a variety of disciplines as a way of acknowledging their contribution to the world of healthcare and wider society.
Those disciplines include podiatrists, dieticians, occupational therapists, orthoptists, paramedics, physiotherapists and radiographers – all of which are on offer as degrees at GCU.
Occupational Therapy Society vice-president Sofia Čongrádyová explained why it's important to mark the occasion.
She said: “Last year, we celebrated through social media but this time we were able to bring everyone together on the 14th for a games night at the Re:Union Bar on campus.
“The main idea was basically to give students the chance to meet up and gain an insight into other AHP professions by talking to their peers.
“We reached out to the Physiotherapy Society because we thought it would be nice to collaborate and celebrate as one big group. We realised promoting it together would also lead to more students getting involved.”
Sofia added: “More than 20 students came along on the night. We started with an informal chat, and I then spoke about AHP day in terms of what it actually is and why we celebrate it.
“We then encouraged students to join a group with other students from different courses. There were four rounds of games, which included a variation of beer pong. There were of course prizes for the winners!”
During their studies, healthcare students at GCU complete interprofessional modules that help the likes of Sofia and her occupational therapy classmates gain an understanding of the other AHP courses.
Sofia said: “As an OT, it’s important to have a knowledge of everything to help benefit our patients in future. We work closely with students from nursing, podiatry, diagnostic imaging, social work and physiotherapy. This had basically been put on hold during the pandemic because our modules were online – not being able to see each other didn’t work very well.”
“That’s why events such as this one are so important. We definitely would like to link up more with other AHP students. I would like to see more events joined across different societies – it can only be a positive for students.”
After her own experience of moving to Scotland in 2020, Sofia is well aware of the crucial role societies play in student’s University experience.
She explained: “I’m originally from Slovakia and I lived in Germany for eight years. I’ve seen quite a few international students attend our events and I think we are all looking for the chance to connect with others. It’s not easy as an international student because there can be cultural and language differences, so I think these events are great for bringing people together.
“I’ve felt so welcomed since I came to Scotland and the OT Society has been a huge part of that.”
You can follow the GCU Occupational Therapy Society on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
By Ross Clark
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter