Impact of Commuting to Placement Interns Project: Transitions Theme Jen Couper and Jamie Madden Susan McCool and Wendy Cohen

Context 55 days of placement during programme Up to 4 hour daily round trip, possible overnight stay Complicated commute, difficult-to-access locations Weekly: 2 days placement and 3 days University Mixed financial support available

Aim Explore the impact of commuting to placement on academic work, health & well-being and student finances Compare placement commute with travel to University Consider impact of combining both commutes in the same week

Method Qualtrics survey: 44 fully completed (43%) Semi-structured interviews: 8 students Semi-structured interview: Placement co-ordinator

Overall Impact of Commuting to Placement and University Students report a greater impact of commuting while going to placement than while going to university

Impact areas Students reported greater impact on finances, academic work, personal life, social life and health and wellbeing from commuting to placement than from commuting to university

Finances “I thought before I started university that financially I was ok, but hadn’t thought about the extra for commuting / travelling…if I had known how far placement may have taken me, beforehand, I would really have appreciated it”.

Paid employment “I had to work the weekend rather than mid-week as I couldn’t afford to lose the money which then left less time for catching up with uni work and impacted on my personal relationships too.”

Academic Work ‘I didn’t manage it, I didn’t keep up with my other academic work as well as I should have’ ‘I was exhausted and just wanted to relax for an hour before it was time for me to go to bed’.

Placement Work “I would get very anxious near the end of the day…all I could think about was catching the train on time, which definitely impacted upon my concentration and work – I felt that it really affected my performance… If I was late, which I was on a few occasions, I had to rely on family members (for child care), which left me feeling embarrassed, awkward and stressed…”

Personal life ‘ I found it really hard as my flatmates and friends had a lot more free time and didn’t seem to understand that I was having to get up early to then do an 8 hour day’.

Social life / other commitments “I missed the train home and the (youth) club required two leaders to be there for it to start. When I wasn’t there on time they had to cancel the club, which let everyone down. This happened twice which meant I had to step aside and let someone else take over”.

Health & Wellbeing “feeling like ‘a bad student’” “drained” “tired” “fatigued” “anxious” “stressed” “feeling guilty” “drained” “feeling like ‘a bad student’”

Health & Wellbeing “I feel during placement there is a lot more pressure placed on everything I do due to having less free time…when I began organising myself for placement I got myself into good habits. Once I started, these continued for the rest of the year”.

Positive strategies: A guide for students, by students http://flash-pub.com/pub/ebooks/a7a75bc70a/#/0

Thank you for listening Jen Couper Jamie Madden Susan McCool Wendy Cohen Contact: susan.mccool@strath.ac.uk