Personal Statement
I have always admired those who work within the healthcare profession and as a result feel that a career in this field would not only be interesting but significantly rewarding.
This interest I hold has allowed me to take part in many volunteer placements and gain a significant amount of experience surrounding this area. As of October I currently volunteer for local special needs school, St. Giles, working in a class of children with a wide range of mental and physical disabilities. The disabilities include those on the autistic spectrum, those with emotional and behavioural issues, for example PDA, attachment disorders and those whose disabilities cause amongst other things depression and self-harm. I also worked in another special school, Queens Park School in Lincoln, for two weeks on their summer play scheme in which I had particular responsibility for two children who also had severe and complex learning disabilities. The duties I had included personal care, feeding, well-being, and assistance with play and activities. I am currently in the process of completing a first aid course with the Lincolnshire Red Cross where I am gaining the skills to enable me to become a fully qualified first aider and will be working at the Lincolnshire Christmas Market this December. As well as this I also joined the local St Johns Ambulance where I gained a Young Lifesaver award and learned basic first aid, which for me is where I believe my interest in the field of health, and more recently in the area of mental health blossomed.
The subjects that I took at A level were Philosophy and Ethics, Psychology, English Literature and Textiles. During Philosophy and Ethics the course content allowed for debates and research assignments on controversial topics related to mental health, for example suicide and the topic of moral evil with reference to famous murders such as the “Jamie Bulger” case and the “Moors Murders.” I also found Psychology extremely interesting as pertinent studies involving mental health issues could be explored and debated throughout all fields of the subject. Studying, debating, supporting through the debate process and researching both these subjects helped me to reflect upon my own future, professional career and led me to the decision that supporting patients and families with mental health issues was the career path I wished to follow. Studying English Literature at A level and my current Extended Project has developed my ability to write detailed, concise and