Personal Narrative: A Career In Psychiatric Students

I was never a kid that knew who I would become when I grow up. My interests ranged from wanting to become an interior designer to having a strong desire of becoming a pilot. I was often surrounded by healthcare professionals but I never imagined myself striving to become one. Little did I know that I would end up at a stage in my life where I would be sure about pursuing a career in healthcare. Although I have decided on my career path, I have yet to discover a particular field within healthcare that grabs my interest. The RA Internship will help me learn more about medicine and help me find a right field of study through clinical research experience and monthly lectures offered to me as an intern. Though this opportunity I will be able to

When Rose first enrolled in school he was mistaken for someone else and put into a program designed for students who aren’t expected to do so well. Thus, the teachers were not enthusiastic about their jobs and the students were extremely unmotivated, including Rose. During his sophomore year, however, Rose did exceptionally well in his biology class. His teacher examines his academic records and uncovers the

It’s a struggle to get out of bed sometimes, I often just sit there struggling to comprehend the sequence of events which have taken place over the past year. I mean, I’m used to this now, its normal to me, but the fact that this has happened and that I am now ‘disabled’ as people would put it is hard to get my head around. And every time I look down I’m reminded of the pain and the struggle I faced, it’s a physical scar which links me to my grueling past, a physical and emotional journey.

Hard-working students dedicated to their work succumb to stress and panic when the pressure of college and the need to do well intensifies. For Nayla Kidd, who grew up under a household which valued education, this was a nightmarish reality. While in college, Kidd’s mother obtained both a doctorate in toxicology at MIT as well as a masters in public health from Johns Hopkins (Svrluga). From the start, the pressure was on for Nayla, and her family reputation was on the line. On top of maintaining amazing grades, “Nayla Kidd ran track and did horseback riding in high school… she taught a popular belly dancing class at Columbia--[and] loves to DJ” (Svrluga). Her extensive resume reveals her true love for

If the stress began to throw off the fine tuning of the well-adjusted members of the class, it was much more disabling to those members of the class whose emotional tuning was already in need of adjustment. One day after class, Nickie and I walked into the Histology lab to pick up a few slides. As we entered the lab, we saw Howard Cameron sitting at one of the benches, vigorously waving his hand as if to answer a question, and reciting different mnemonics that were used to memorize various groups of anatomic structures. With no one else in the classroom, Nickie and I wondered what Howard was doing.

“I want to live.” She said. She lifted her feet off the small coffee table and set them gently on the floor as she continued to look through me, too interested on the inner workings of her own mind.

Working together over the span of a month, my partner Jan and I collaborated to create a project centering around mental health awareness. The topic of mental illness is a controversial one, as it is an important topic, but isn’t talked about enough. Because suicide is the second leading cause of death here in Wisconsin, along with the fact that I had friends affected by mental illness and suicide, Jan and I felt that this topic was something that should be brought up; especially to FHS and parents that we presented to at our exhibition night. Because this was such a difficult issue, I felt nervous about the idea of presenting our project to many parents and teachers as I would not have known their reactions to this. With friends, or other people that I’m closer with, I usually don’t have any problems with talking about issues like these; albeit, with adults, particularly parents and teachers, I want to be able to impress the adults that are a part of my life and make a good impression.

Late in my junior year, around the time mental illness typically tend to surface, I began to think. To really and truly think, to deeply look into myself, my surroundings, and others. I started to challenge every principle imaginable. Obscure yet demanding questions clouded my mind constantly: What influences people into who they are? Do standardized tests accurately depict test taker’s intelligence? Do artists and scientists see the world differently? What is my purpose?

The interview with Kay Redfield Jamison about her battle with bipolar disorder and stigma of being labeled “the crazy professor”. She is a psychiatry professor who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after thirty years when she tried to commit suicide. Dr. Jamison is an author of a memoir An Unquiet Mind and her acclaimed book on suicide Night Falls Fast. She is an expert on the condition of bipolar disorder and a patient herself. If someone tells you that you have an illness, and have to take medication for life, with possible side effects, there can be a huge stigma in taking medication to appear normal. This was what Dr. Jamison was trying to do, hide her illness. When you are ill the tendency is to deny that illness. The health community

I sat down to see how she has been doing the past days and surprisingly, she told me every little detail. She brought food with her whenever she studied, she knew when to take breaks, napped when she needed to, and went to bed early, rather than forcing herself to stay up late at night and study. She was clearly aware of all the problems that affected her mental health and made sure that she balanced everything out. Just to be sure that she took a break from studying that day, I asked her once again if she wanted get lunch. During our meal, she was the girl I have always known; full of life and ebullient. It was unanticipated, but Jenny thanked me. She noticed my actions in the past week and realized that my disruptions helped her be aware of what she was doing and how it was affecting her body. Jenny did not realize how important her well-being was and worried more about school. Without me causing a disruption in her work flow, her mental health would have the possibility of worsening. By this experiment, I was able to learn the importance of

I propose a module about mental health, a topic that I’ve been passionate about for years. Lead’s mission is to foster social awareness, and civic engagement. This topic fits this mission statement by creating social awareness about a topic that affects 1 in 5 teenagers, and is the third highest cause of death for teenagers. Mental illness is highly important to me because I have experienced what happens when someone’s illness takes them too far. I’ve advocated for awareness ever since my friend committed suicide in eighth grade. It can be incorporated into the CORE curriculum quite easily, as a separate module. It aligns well with other topics taught in CORE including psychodynamics and gender, because the psychodynamic can be assessed in

illness might not be sufficient to change attitudes as students with more knowledge about mental

I have always wanted to be the person others look to when they feel scared or vulnerable. In return for that trust, I have put enormous effort into helping people who seek me out identify their best options for the future. Not until I encountered life in all its confusing, brutal truth, however, did I realize I wanted to occupy that advisor’s role as a professional. My aim in applying to Northwestern is to become a licensed professional counselor in my home state of Wisconsin so that I can help young people tackle everyday problems, learn life skills, and ultimately, be the best people they can be. Ultimately, my goal is to complete a doctorate in counseling psychology, from University of Wisconsin-Madison in particular, after completion of my master’s degree while gaining vital work experience in my field and to use my expertise to train other aspiring professionals in my field.

Do you believe that your role as a therapist will end at the end of the day or will it be present in your personal life also?

I am glad you switch major early and found your calling. As for me I wanted to leave the biology field and get another degree from another field. However, I was almost done the program by the time I realize I did not want to become biology. Regardless, I Still decided to finish the two remain courses I had left to graduate. It was really depressing going though that. And I wish I had found my calling earlier the way you do and switch to psychology because I really intro to psychology. Also, I wish you the best in this class and your future.