Goodnight Mr Larsen, What Brings You Here Today?

For my interview, I decided to interview a social worker and a psychiatrist, to help me gain some insight on their professional experience as well as their values, beliefs, and attitude towards psychotropic medications. I asked questions to understand what is their roles as a social worker and a

My interest in the human brain and behavior started long before medical school. I truly enjoyed the peer counseling and studies in psychiatry that I did as an undergraduate, as well as my preclinical psychiatry and behavioral science courses, but had not seriously considered psychiatry as a career before starting my clerkships. I was really surprised that, how much I loved my psychiatry rotations. In the locked psychiatric ward, working closely with patients and learning about their illnesses, I realized that I was deeply moved by their stories and devoted to doing what I could to help them manage their diseases.

To better prepare as an academic student, I completed the Job Shadow in order to grow in knowledge and career readiness. I managed to get in contact with a psychiatrist who was also a psychotherapist, which caught my attention since he had studied through the lens of both a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Had it not been for this experience, I wouldn’t have received the insight that the doctor gave

My therapist was a nice lady, I liked her a lot. She treated me normally and was not scared to make me open up about my illness. She would just sit and talk with me about it and ask how I felt about everything. I would get flustered so easily because I did not know how I felt. I was just as confused and blindsided by this as everyone else. Although I believed depression just creept into my life randomly she uncovered the mystery of what was contributing to my depression. She made me realize I could overcome this illness and that I would. I understood then there were factors that added to my depression and that I could work to erase those from my life. By talking about it with her it also allowed me to compile my feelings about that hectic time period in my life. I understood myself better than ever after working with her. She was the best thing that happened to my life. She saved me from

All the attention was overwhelming; my parents got me a psychologist whom then requested me to see a psychiatrist which only furthered my discomfort. The psychiatrist diagnosed me with major depression/severe anxiety, and a mood disorder; he then

Psychology is the study of mind and behavior, and it embraces all of the different aspects of the conscious and unconscious experiences as well as thoughts. I didn’t personal know anyone that worked in the Mental Health profession. I decided that I would do a quick google search to see the list of Mental Health professionals in my area. I was surprised to find that there are a lot of Mental Health professionals in my local area. I scrolled through the different people in my area on a website called Psychology Today. Out of the many different people, Dr. Paul Leslie stood out to me. So I got some his information and phone number from the website and gave him a call. He picked up and I told him that I was giving him a call to ask him some questions

and problem-solve. I especially enjoyed my rotation in the mental health hospital and hope to one day specialize in this area. I work well as part of a team, communicate well, and have excellent attention to detail. I strive to offer the best customer service to patients and always ensure safe practice on the

I worked as a greeter in volunteer department, directed patients to designated departments and buildings, and managed shuttle calls for patients and their family members. During the time, I would sometimes have the opportunity to chat with patients and family members about topics regarding McLean Hospital and the medical field of mental health.

psychiatrist is to assess the mental condition of a patient in coordination with their physical

On my drive from Columbia to Bamberg at 6 a.m. on Friday, I never fought that I would be embarking on an experience that would be the most meaningful to me. I arrived at Dr. McAlhaney's Family Practice and right away was ushered to her back office full of two nurses and office assistants answering to her demands. She told me to quickly grab a cusp and meter for a patient. This was the first time during shadowing a physician that I was expected to be on my feet and ready for anything. During this experience, I saw patients who were my family, friends, and neighbors. I saw people from my church and school, and even the person who fixes my sandwiches down at a local restaurant. This time was different for me because I felt that all these people

This then prompted his doctor-like questions: “How are you feeling? What do you mean?” and then my favorite: “Do you want to go to the hospital?” Long story short I ended up in 5150 psychiatric hold for approximately five days.

passionately led to psychiatry because I cherish this personal approach to medicine and thrive in the process of

1. Brief autobiographical sketch, including what led to your interest in the practice of clinical psychology.

Working as a psychiatrist is definitely no walk in the park. Having said that, job satisfaction and stress is relative to individual perceptions and experiences, and there is no ideal career. Psychiatric work can be stressful and emotionally draining. Working irregular hours is common in psychiatry. Psychiatrists have to experience people going through emotional turmoil and pain, sometimes dealing with disturbing and violent behaviour.

It all began when I was in a college class one day and I suddenly felt my heart racing, became short of breath, had feelings of choking, started sweating, and became light-headed. I did not know what was wrong with me until a few minutes passed and I felt well again. I later realized I had just had a panic attack. I researched it and found that it was not a physical illness, instead it was all psychological. I became determined to overcome that and used my own therapy and breathing techniques to eliminate them. I was both the patient and the mental health provider at the same time. That was what sparked my interest in being able to control the body with the mind and ultimately led me to consider psychiatry as a field in medicine I would love to practice someday. Psychiatry is a field in medicine that has many aspects undefined. I love that it is not algorithmic, but imaginative. It is a field that is not confined, but boundless. Psychiatry is engraved in all of medicine. Most patients have a mental illness in addition to their physical illness. I have always been intrigued by the impact that our emotions have on our behavior. Throughout my life I have often wondered why do some minds create happiness, and others suffering, in the face of the same external circumstances.