Iona Proud, Physiotherapy

By taking full advantage of many placement opportunities, a kind-hearted student from Inverurie has sought out the skills to help others through physiotherapy and graduated from Robert Gordon University (RGU) on Thursday 11 July.

Iona Proud (22) collected her BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy on stage in front of family and friends at His Majesty’s Theatre.

“I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved at RGU, but the best thing about it all is that I love what I do,” said Iona. “It’s been an incredible learning opportunity, and I’ve met some great people along the way, both of which I’m very thankful for. I feel so blessed to know that I’m going to be doing something I love.”

Iona was inspired into the profession by the Physiotherapists who helped her great aunt recover from major hip and shoulder replacement surgeries.

“I always knew I wanted to work with people, and from quite a young age I was veering towards healthcare,” said Iona. “When I was going through primary school, my great aunty had her shoulders and hips replaced and was always in among Physios. I could see the help she was getting from them, and that’s really why I chose to apply.”

Having enjoyed her time at Inverurie Academy, Iona was keen to gain the knowledge and skills from higher education which she could use to help others.

Iona said: “I applied for the Physiotherapy course for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I wanted a career in healthcare where I could help people. Secondly, I really enjoyed school and was keen to continue studying.”

Making full use of the varied placement experiences on offer through RGU, Iona became more resilient, grew as an individual and prepared herself for her future career.

Iona said: “I’ve been really fortunate to have experienced seven interesting and varied placements, all in different places and with different teams. Being on placement has always been my favourite part of the course. It’s given me the opportunity to work with amputees, on burns and plastics, and in a brain injury unit.

“It’s been great preparation for the rotational post I’ve accepted where I’ll be starting in a new team every four months.”

After graduation, Iona will begin her first job as a Band 5 Rotational Physiotherapist in August.

Iona adds: “At the beginning of this year, we had a couple of mock interview sessions with The Employability Hub at RGU. I got the job, so the mock interviews must’ve worked. I’m really excited to get going.”