Interview with QMU graduate and PhD student: Zoe Roxburgh, BSc (Hons) Speech & Language Therapy
Zoe Roxburgh, from Burntisland in Fife, graduated with a BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy from QMU in 2011.
At the time of choosing a university course, Zoe had seen a lot of media coverage about speech and language therapy and the requirement for more speech and language therapists across the UK. As a result of this, Zoe did some research about the profession and also shadowed her friend’s sister who worked as an speech and language therapist for the NHS. After this experience, Zoe knew speech and language therapy was the career path for her as it linked in with her passions of helping others and talking!
Zoe knew that there are only two universities in Scotland that offer speech and language therapy degrees, including QMU.
Why did you choose to study at QMU?
“QMU is closer to my hometown in Fife and I also felt it had a better reputation for health sciences degrees. At the time, QMU was relocating to Musselburgh and the prospect of learning in a new campus really appealed to me.
“I attended the open day for the speech and language therapy course once I had accepted my unconditional offer. My favourite part about the open day was going in to the speech lab and seeing all of the fancy equipment for measuring speech, including ultrasound. It was also a great opportunity to meet others with similar interests and those who would also be on the same course as me.”
What did you enjoy most about your course?
“The degree itself covers a huge range of topics. I particularly enjoyed the paediatric topics and the practical phonetics and phonology classes. I also loved going on my clinical placements and getting hands-on experience.”
Did you enjoy living on campus?
“During my first year I lived in the Halls of Residence. As we were the first cohort of students in the new campus we were the first ones to live in the Halls or Residence which was fantastic. Everything was brand new and clean.”
Did you enjoy living in Edinburgh?
“I moved in to the centre of Edinburgh for my second and third year and then moved back home to Fife and travelled over in my fourth year. I absolutely loved living in the city centre of Edinburgh. It’s such a great atmosphere and there is always something to do. It’s the perfect location for student nightlife.”
What are your plans after graduation?
“After I graduated with my undergraduate degree in July 2011, I went on to further studies as a PhD student at QMU starting in September 2011. I started off as a full-time PhD student investigating the use of visual articulatory models and ultrasound visual biofeedback therapy for children with cleft palate. My particular interest in this topic was sparked from my open day visit to QMU when I first saw the ultrasound equipment. I also became more interested in this area during my level four studies when I took the Innovative Clinical Technologies option module.
“In 2014, I started part-time clinical employment with NHS Lothian and changed my student status to part-time. I began working as a clinical research fellow on an 18-month project funded by the Chief Scientist Office at QMU in May 2015. The project aimed to investigate the effectiveness of ultrasound visual biofeedback therapy for children with intractable speech sound disorders.
“I’m currently working as a community paediatric speech and language therapist for NHS Grampian and in the final stages of writing up my PhD thesis, which I plan to submit within the next year.”
Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences
Clinical Audiology, Speech and Language Research Centre
Notes to Editor
For further media information contact Lynne Russell, Marketing Manager, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, E: lrussell@qmu.ac.uk T: 0131 474 0000, M: 07711 011239 and Jon Perkins, Press and PR Officer, E: jperkins@qmu.ac.uk T: 0131 474 0000.
