Alexis Tupponce - MSc Physiotherapy graduate

Before I decided to study physiotherapy, I completed a bachelor's degree in kinesiology back in the United States, where I’m originally from. Kinesiology is the science of body and movement, so you learn all about human anatomy, biomechanics etc. I always knew I wanted to be a physiotherapist, but in the US this is only offered as a doctorate. I ended up looking at schools in the United Kingdom and stumbled across Plymouth. It ticked all my boxes.

I’ve been active in sport since I was 6 years old, so over the years I’ve had my fair share of injuries. I was a gymnast, and I also took part in diving, so you could say I was always hurting myself. My dad is a paediatrician, so I was immersed in the healthcare world from a very early age. It always fascinated me just how amazing and interesting the human body is.

While I was on my undergrad back home, my best friend on my course was actually from the UK. I ended up visiting the country on my first ever trip outside of the states and fell in love with the place. Plymouth, specifically too. I’m originally from Phoenix, Arizona, so I basically grew up in the desert. Plymouth for me was a complete change of scenery.

To register as a physiotherapist, you need a total of 1000 hours of placement time as per the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) and CSP (Chartered Society of Physiotherapists) requirements. On the MSc programme this is broken up into five placements, with your first placement block being five weeks long, and six weeks each for the remaining four. Physiotherapy has three main domains. There’s musculoskeletal, respiratory and neurology. Within these there is a huge variety of different areas and departments that you can work in.

I found the mix of theory to placements great. The programme is structured in a way so you don’t usually get any assignments at the same time as your placement, so this way you can fully focus without dividing your attention. The master's programme has a slot of self-study, but that doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily be working alone. My cohort were very good at forming study groups, and everybody was always helping each other. All the lecturers want nothing more than to see you succeed. They help by pointing you in the right direction and telling you about any resources that may be available.

I had a very memorable experience on my very first placement. This was in neurosurgery, which going into I found quite daunting, but I soon found it really rewarding. I was helping people that had brain tumours or were going through traumatic brain injuries. These are huge life changes, but just being able to see them start the recovery process, being a part of that recovery, it really made me feel like I was making a real difference. I even got to watch two brain surgeries!

A typical day for me while not on placement would involve one class around late morning, lunch, then a further class in the second half of the day. The later class would tend to be a practical session, where we would take what we’ve learned in our lectures and try these new techniques on one another. It was certainly very hands on, which is what you would expect from this programme.

By the time I got to my last placement I didn’t even really feel like a student anymore, being able to work completely independently and take charge of my own workload. It’s kind of amazing thinking back to my first placement, just how timid I was and how much I've grown over these two years.

If you were considering applying, I would say to research all the areas that a physio can work in. People tend to assume physiotherapists only work in sport or tend to just work on general muscle and joint pain, but there are tonnes of areas that are available. There are a huge variety of ways you can specialise, so you can really find your niche.