My Inspiration To Study Medicine On A University Level

Years ago, my mother gave me a book of riddles and abstract puzzles as the challenge of trying to solve these was something that I thoroughly enjoyed. Growing older, the puzzles I attempted differed in form and difficulty. It was around this time that I visited the medicinal lab that my dad worked at. I was deeply intrigued at the work done by those working as a part of a life-saving healthcare organisation which led me to ponder the different types of illness in the world and their treatments. It seemed at first that my love of sciences and problem solving was unrelated; it wasn't long until I discovered how wrong I was. I have come to realise that during the time that I will be at university and beyond, logical problem solving will form the basis of my working life. I desperately try to satisfy my curiosity of different medical conditions, treatments and ethical stances. Discovering how the science we have learnt can conjoin and becomes the basis of treatments for many different illnesses and even be used to prevent them is one of the ideas that fascinate me immensely. I would eventually take this degree to become a psychiatrist to help and alleviate the symptoms of those with mental illnesses and help improve and save lives.

I believe that my hard work and determination has and will help me as I strive for my goal. In order to support and broaden my studies, I engage in further reading of many texts including Bad Science by Ben Goldacre and Shapeshifters by Gavin Francis. These texts show me viewpoints different to my own and push me to question my own opinion on different case studies. This is a common scenario faced by those working in the healthcare profession. Following, deep research, I found the magazines entitled the Biological Sciences Review and the Psychology Review which I read avidly each month as it helps me keep up with current breakthroughs and research. I educate myself with a variety of hands-on experiences such as the Fastbleep schools Medical course. The course demonstrated more physiological procedures including CPR, stitches and resembled a taster of a practical physiological seminar offered on some courses.

In the past, I have chosen to present my knowledge and findings by participating in the Intermediate Biology Olympiad where I achieved the Highly Commended award, showing my ability to work under pressure. Researching deeper into the broad world of medical sciences, not just limited to physical health, but also Psychology, the science of the mind, I take interest in seeing how both aspects overlap and upon hearing of the Corpus Christi Medical Sciences competition on how memories are formed and lost, it became a new topic of interest to me and I decided to enter. Each of these experiences not only taught me more, but they prepared me for the future and helped me to learn more about the science and medical world within psychology. I became involved in my library by volunteering to run craft activities for the reading challenge events that take place weekly throughout summer as art and reading has always been a large part of my life. Using my hobbies to give back to the community meant that I was awarded the v10 award for 10 hours of volunteering.

I was also part of the Debate and Politics Society; I weekly attended leading to me becoming a delegate of Tameside Youth Council where we run the National Make Your Mark campaign which helps youths have a say in what matters will be debated and improved over the next year. This has helped me engage with people from many different backgrounds and improved my communication, understanding and empathy which will be crucial, not only in my degree, but as a psychiatrist. With each experience and my devotion to learning more about the field and wanting to be able to use my knowledge for the good of others, I have learnt how to improve and better myself for the next opportunity, this degree and eventually my work.