My name is Molly and I joined the Trust as a Band 5 Physiotherapist in 2018. I have completed 5 rotations in a wide range of areas, which has expanded my knowledge of the different skills in each area. It has also given me the opportunity to get to know various therapy teams and work alongside colleagues of different disciplines. I began in the Acute Therapy team on the surgical wards, and have since rotated to MSK Outpatients, Inpatient rehabilitation, Older Person’s Medicine and Stroke, as well as spending time working on Intensive Care during the first peak of the COVID pandemic. I am currently working at Christchurch Day Hospital completing home falls assessments and seeing patients who have been recently discharged from Bournemouth and Poole hospitals.

I have recently taken on the role as lead of Band 5 peer support and aim to meet with the other Band 5s on a regular basis to allow time to discuss work related queries or concerns in a trusting environment. These meetings also provide a good opportunity to meet other Band 5s and arrange social events. As a local to the area, I was keen to return after training at Cardiff and I was pleased to feel so welcomed into the Trust. I was happy to discover that Bournemouth placed so much importance on staff wellbeing, showing appreciation for and supporting their staff and I would thoroughly recommend working for the University Hospitals Dorset Trust to all Band 5 Physiotherapists.

My name is Ella and I joined the trust in 2018 as a band 5 Occupational Therapist. Since joining the trust I have experienced a variety of different rotations which have helped expand my knowledge of the wider occupational therapy role within different areas of the trust. The band 5 rotational post has offered me experiences so far in acute surgery, orthopaedics, general medicine/respiratory, older persons medicine and Christchurch Day Hospital as well as working on a variety of wards during the COVID pandemic. Throughout my time at the trust so far, there have been many band 5 peer support meetings allowing for a safe space to discuss your work along with providing an environment for me to meet other band 5s and make friends. The trust offers staff wellbeing events such as the #thankyou day which I was able to be a part of within the first month of starting my job. There is a unique focus on staff wellbeing with many teams offering wellbeing and detox sessions regularly. I chose to join the trust as my family are based in the Dorset area and I wanted to stay close to home. Having trained up at Oxford Brookes, moving to UHD meant learning all the new processes and teams that I was unfamiliar with. The trust and teams that I have worked with have made this process smooth and have support me throughout my journey.