Psychology Personal Statement Example 103

I aspire to have a career in clinical psychology. This is because I would be exposed to a wide range of people and would be able to draw on scientific knowledge and methods to promote psychological well being.
I have taken it upon myself to do further reading and an online course in psychology to develop my understanding of the subject. Through my research, I have gained insight into environmental and genetic correlations to schizophrenia. For example, environmental factors focusing on childhood trauma such as neglect, physical and sexual abuse play a major role in the increased risk of psychosis. Through the online course called 'The Psychology of learning,' I have learnt about classical conditioning, and how this procedure has been applied to psychological therapies such as systematic desensitisation, which is used to overcome phobias.
I enjoy studying biology because it enables me to learn about the chemical reactions and processes behind everyday things. Our emotions are controlled by chemicals and neurotransmitters in the brain. Before we feel pain, sensory receptors in our body send a message through our nerve fibres to the spinal cord and brain stem which then register the pain. This shows the link between biology and psychopharmacology, our emotions and how we respond to stimuli.

Apart from academia, I enjoy partaking in extracurricular activities that enable me to work with all kinds of people. On Sundays, I am an assistant Sunday school teacher at my church. This allows me to engage with children and create an emotionally healthy environment to promote learning. I volunteer during the weekday at a Royal Trinity Hospice shop. This has helped develop my interpersonal skill and the ability to work with people from different backgrounds and age groups. In addition, I work part-time at McDonald's as a Customer Experience Leader. In this role I engage with customers at every opportunity, delivering outstanding hospitality. Moreover, I support the restaurant to implement new ways to improve customer satisfaction. This job has taught me the significance of emotional intelligence and body language. Likewise, it teaches me the importance of empathising with customers and listening skills which is critical as a clinical psychologist.
Through work experience at St George's hospital in the nurse pediatric respiratory unit, I was enveloped into the professional environment of working in a hospital. I observed CT scans, medical team meetings and appointments. For example, I attended a weekly meeting of doctors consisting of radiologists, ER doctors and pediatric nurses. The purpose of the meeting was to review the most significant patient cases and to discuss points on how to improve these cases. Observing the meetings gave me a realistic viewpoint on procedures in hospitals. Furthermore, due to my aspirational career of becoming a clinical psychologist, this placement gave me an idea of what it would be like to work alongside doctors and medical staff with patients. Subsequently, I did work experience at St Peter's residential care home. During my placement, I worked with nurses and kitchen staff to provide quality service to the elderly. I assisted in serving tea and lunch and also interacted with the elderly during social activities. This helped me to know how to interact with elderly people with dementia and gain a different perspective on elderly people.
I want to study psychology to further develop my knowledge in the scope of the brain, its anatomy and how it works. I want to learn how to work through problems carefully and logically applying scientific principles. Furthermore, I want to expand my awareness in all the different fields involved in the course. So that I can master any situation that I am presented with in my chosen field and wider medical field.