Iona is a second year BSc physiotherapy student at the University of Southampton
As a physiotherapy student with a disability who has unfortunately already experienced regular discrimination, I was keen to expand my skillset and employability by exploring my options across the four pillars of the profession.
Research and innovation immediately appealed to me, and I was fortunate enough to gain an internship with the University of Southampton School of Education as a research assistant investigating the use of symbol-based literature to support learners with autism transitioning into higher education.
Following this I worked as a junior research fellow within the faculty of environmental and life sciences researching the barriers and facilitators to success in mature students, presenting our results at the Centre for Higher Education Practice Festival of Learning and Teaching.
I am currently working as a research assistant at the University of Nottingham within the PHIRST Light team evaluating the Steady & Strong falls prevention programme and have definitely caught the research bug!
My passion is Equity, Diversity & Belonging and reducing the barriers for underrepresented groups across the breadth of healthcare professions to ensure that our workforce more accurately represents the diverse patient population.
I am also Vice-Chair of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy’s Disability Network, a member of the HIOW student council and EDB officer for the CSP Student Reference Group. I’m looking forward to my role as PRS student officer and interim Equity, Diversity and Belonging officer to encourage students to become involved in research alongside their studies and during the early stages of their careers.