Maggie P.
About me
| Maggie P. | |
| Social Policy and Social Work | |
| Social Policy and Health Sciences | |
| Research Postgraduate | |
| Goodricke | |
| 2001 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Reflexologist | |
| Self-employed | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Healthcare |
More about Maggie
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A day in the life of a Reflexologist in the United Kingdom
Don't think in straight lines. You will have learnt transferable skills which can be applied over a wide area. Go with your gut feeling. It is often right and don't be led by what you think others expect of you
Briefly describe the organisation you work for
I am self-employed
What do you do?
I treat people who come to see me with issues as diverse as hormonal problems or gastritis. A treatment lasts around 1 hour and it usually takes a few treatments to stimulate balance in the body by pressing points on the feet. I treat people in their own home or at my treatment room in Starbeck.
Reflecting upon your past employment and education, what led you to your current career choice?
I trained as a nurse in the 1980s and was lucky enough to have a varied career working in the UK and Australia in many different specialities including intensive care, cardiology, intensive care and cancer care. This gave me a good background for reflexology as I often have experience of the conventional treatment for the symptoms my clients present with. I didn't get to university from school (really rubbish at A-Levels) so when I had the opportunity in the 90s to study Social Policy as a mature student I grabbed it. I loved studying at York and was happy to move onto a PhD when an opportunity came up. I returned to nursing after my PhD and eventually moved into management of a research nursing team which nicely combined all my past experience.
Is your current job sector different from what you thought you would enter when you graduated?
I think as I graduated quite late on it seemed a fairly natural progression particularly as I had been helped by reflexology when conventional medication didn't work for me.
Describe your most memorable day at work
There are many from my nursing. I think the ones that stick are those where I acted as an advocate, speaking out for patients when they did not have the knowledge or emotional strength to speak out for themselves. This could be very challenging due to the hierarchical nature of staffing in healthcare (much less so now)
Are there any challenges associated with your job?
My current job as a reflexologist can be challenging as the research evidence of effectiveness is still emerging and it is challenging to fit complementary therapy into the model for research created by medicines research. As a previous research nurse this is doubly frustrating as I know that people can be helped by complementary therapies and that would lighten the burden on the NHS. I am working on it!!
What’s your work environment and culture like?
I have a lovely treatment room and I can please myself when I work. The clients I treat are happy with what I do. I make their quality of life better and that's a great boost for me
What extracurricular activities did you undertake at university and what transferable skills did you develop through these?
I'm afraid as a single parent and with a daughter to care for I didn't take part much in extra curricular activities. I'm sure it is a great way of getting to know other people and yourself and would really encourage others to do. I always enjoyed and valued the times in the canteen chatting over meals about the course but also about extra-curricular things - fortunately I wasn't the only mature student on the course
What would you like to do next with your career?
Do and take part in some reflexology research so we can add to the evidence base. Keep training to widen my experience and the range of people I can treat. Work to get complementary therapy as an option for GPs to prescribe.
What top tips do you have for York students preparing for today’s job market and life after graduation?
Don't think in straight lines. You will have learnt transferable skills which can be applied over a wide area. Go with your gut feeling. It is often right and don't be led by what you think others expect of you
What topics from students are you happy to answer questions on?
Anything I can help with I am happy to answer questions on. Im happy to say I don't know if I don't!
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?
thank for asking
Next steps...
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