atomkinder

What have I become, my sweetest friend, everyone I know goes away in the end. And you could have it all, my empire of dirt. I will let you down, I will make you hurt. If I could start again, a million miles away. I would keep myself, I would find a way

I know I've not posted here much recently. My only excuse is that I have really had little to say. University has been rolling along much as it always does, too much work, not enough time. My first placement this year went well, lots of patients, few radiographers, which lead to me working evening cover as there wasn't enough qualified members of staff to go around. The next placement should be fun, I fell out with the supervising radiographer at the start of last year. Immediately after finishing placement I went to visit The Din in Cologne, which was the first time I'd been to Germany and the first time I'd used public transport in a foreign language. Both of which was were an education. Time spent with Din is always good, especially as we went around the Cathedral, I love a good cathedral me.




I used nearly a whole film in that day and I thought I'd share a couple of my favourite shots here.

The most jaw droppingly stupid man is sat opposite me on the train. For the last several minutes he has been trying to talk to someone on the phone using a pair of headphones which clearly do not have a microphone and, I suspect, don't actually fit the phone he is using as his music was still coming out of the phone's speaker before this call.

He has now given up with the call and is subjecting the carriage to a blast of static. Oh joy. Just as well it's pissing down with rain otherwise I'd have nothing to look forward to.

I've been reading the proposed changes to the current NHS student support arrangements because you know, I'm that kind of fun guy and I'm giving myself the afternoon off from assignments as I always try to do when I've handed something in.

One of the reasons I'm back at university at all is because of the differences in student support arrangements for NHS funded students. We have our tuition fees paid and we receive a means tested bursary, although this does disqualify us from the means tested portion of the student loan but is importantly, not repayable.
I do however feel somewhat cheated by the National Health when selling me this course, the implication was that as I would be supporting myself I would get a full bursary and the same loan as other students. These were the figures I used to make my calculations with and ultimately made my decision on. It turns out that I do get the same loan as other people, other people who have independent means or rich parents, as my NHS bursary is taken to be an income, where as a part time job for which I earned the same amount would not be. I also don't get the full bursary, I get the full basic rate of bursary to get the full £6000 a year as I was quoted one has to be supporting one's self and have dependants and a disability. While I don't begrudge people with children getting a higher rate of support, and heaven knows some of my friends with children find it harder than I do to make ends meet, it would be nice if I'd known the the quoted figures didn't apply to the 'average' student. The nature of the support I receive makes it more complicated, read it leads to a labyrinth of paperwork, in order to access hardship funds and such like. I have no illusions that I am disproportionally hard done by, all students are being screwed over by a supposedly Labour government, the less said about the recent CBI recommendations the better, and what I understand of America only the rich are allowed to go to university at all.

The options presented in the public consultation mostly consist of re-balancing the means tested, bursary and loan amounts, adding more here, taking some there. A couple of options listed talk of minimum income levels, a surprise when it comes to student support as I have always been under the impression that we don't count when it come to calculating those living below the breadline. One in particular stands out as it is what most people I have spoken to on this subject take to be the ideal situation, that of the NHS actually paying student nurses, student radiographers, and students of all the included healthcare professions a wage for the time they are training. Under this proposal we would receive national minimum wage, which is higher for those over 22, those classed as mature students, paid as a salary from the NHS along with all the NI and tax contributions this usually includes. This seems to be the best option for students, especially mature students, it would provide more than just a non-repayable source of income, it would provide a sense of security and link the work we do in placement and in academic to our earnings. We have longer terms than almost all other students in the university, no undergrads have longer, a fuller timetable, more assessments and are expected to maintain professional standards throughout our course today, for example today we were advised not to use facebook as unbecoming photo's and comments can appear all to easily and lead to allegations of unprofessionalism which are on the rise. I have also worked in departments where student radiographers have been relied upon to fill gaps in staffing cover over short periods of time, only to have to be unable to come into work as I have run out of money for train fare. While we are unqualified and only ever working with supervision I can't help but think that if we were paid for the time we spent working in department then we would feel more a part of the team and it would not be unreasonable for us to be relied upon more.
There are many details to be clarified with this proposal although I'm certain they will never be, as it is by far the most expensive of all options put forward and as option one is to do nothing, the cheapest suggestion, I have no doubt that the government will fall short of providing the best possible future for the NHS.

You can keep your digital manipulations and megapixel arms race



This is what portraiture and fashion photography is all about.
RIP Irving Penn.

The last few weeks have been interesting. I'm back at uni, almost a month before the rest of the university started, meaning that anything I wanted or needed (like food, or a printer) has been unavailable in any of the university buildings near the science faculty. I handed in my first piece of work only to be told off for handing it in to the wrong office despite the correct office not being open and my self imposed system of work dictating that work must be handed in as soon as it is complete to stop me going over it and spoiling it. This whole second year thing is scary in all my years in higher education I've never been in the second year and I'm not sure I like it, there's a lot of work although frustratingly much of it can't be started until I go on placement next month, which is driving me mad with a to do list which isn't being done (I live through lists, I swear one day I'm going to realise they have "breath in, breath out" on them).
On the subject of the rest of the university, they started back today, you could tell they were students, I had three people step out in front of me on my way in. Good job I'm getting good at dodging moving targets, ringing my bell (I do love my bell) and shouting profanities all at the same time.
Other than looking forward to placement, which is at a hospital I'm less enthusiastic about than I could be, uni isn't all that great at the moment, a summer of not really working has left me financially worse off than I was before the break and my brain's response to this is to work harder and longer which would be fine if the student loan company paid overtime, if you see me off visiting people and places but looking hungrily at passing children you'll know why.

Back to my bumper book of anatomy and physiology and the chapter on the renal system. Joy.

Yes, I am still alive. This is all.

Because I can't think of the words right now.

Picked up my camera the other day, finally got a film processed. There are about half a dozen I'm quite pleased with but I've put more up on flickr (linked from the image) just to have something up to show. I do miss film and playing with filters, I know people like Adobe Potatoshop but you don't always need it when you can get results like this without it.