Occupational Therapy student wins national award

York St John student Laura Buckland was the recipient of The Barbara Tyldesley Student Award at the annual awards which recognise excellence across the profession.

Laura was given her award for her work on an overseas placement at The Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed, Bangladesh.

She had been interested in visiting Bangladesh for a number of years and the opportunity to visit the country was one of the reasons she chose to study at York St John.

Laura said: “In my final year, after a lecture on overseas placement, I applied, was interviewed and successful in securing the role in Bangladesh. I was there for 12 weeks in total; ten of them were spent on placement where I rotated between working with people with spinal cord injuries and children with cerebral palsy. I was responsible for the occupational therapy planning and intervention of my own caseload.”

Julia Scott, Chief Executive of British Association and College of Occupational Therapists, said: “The COT awards showcase talent and leadership across occupational therapy and have become a mark of excellence for our members. It has never been more important to celebrate and share best practice across the profession and I wish the winners every success.”

Laura’s placement was sponsored by the Constance Owen Trust.

She said: “It was great to receive the award because it gave me the opportunity to report on my findings to the wider Occupational Therapy community. I had three SMART goals to achieve while I was there and I feel that also gave my time a bit more value. It was also great to meet other COT award winners at the reception event in London.”