Today I am writing to you from a very remote town called Broken Hill. If you were to ask me last month where I thought I would be selected to go on placement, this would be the last place I would have imagined myself in, but I was one of the lucky few to randomly be selected to conduct their rural placement in this small little town.

A few weeks ago, to when I was notified I would be residing in Broken Hill for placement – I was pretty disappointed. When I imagined placement, I envisioned large hospitals, rehabilitation centres and acute wards – not a collection of primary schools in what I thought was in the middle of no where. But now, a week later, after just completing my first day of orientation – having spent not even two days in Broken Hill, I can happily say I am very much enjoying it here.

A tour of the town was provided today as part of orientation, where I got to see significant landmarks, the beautiful scenery and much more of what Broken Hill has to offer. In the following weeks I am going to be practising occupational therapy on students with particular sensory and motor difficulties. It goes without saying that I am very keen to begin, as I have yet to have any hands on experience due to the covid situation, so I am going to do my best to make the most of this opportunity!

Of course I know this isn’t going to be a piece of cake – it’s placement after all. I’m going to make mistakes, and I’m going to be challenged, but I’m aiming to learn as much as possible. After these 7 weeks are complete, I hope to come out as a different person – one who is more educated in the field of paediatric occupational therapy, and one who is more confident in applying my newly developed clinical skills to my next placement.