A Senior Portfolio Psychology

PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology: Senior Portfolio

Foreword/ Introduction

There are unexplained things that a human mind can do that still need exploration in the field of Psychology. I am in awe of the type of most unexpected organ of the body can do with the body since billions of cells work simultaneously to transmit signals to the body and order it to perform a function. When I say ‘unexplained’ things, it could be a possession of a human mind by a demon that we see in movies, which has been often witnessed by people around the world in real. How a human brain can work manipulatively with multiple personalities and how a mind can urge the body to commit a crime is marvelous. I was enthralled for this reason to study Psychology and indulge completely in its workings and functionalities that have appeared complex to the most skilled and proficient psychologists of all time.

Personal Statement

As I have been an undergraduate student of Psychology band want to pursue my career in a similar field, most preferably, Public Health or Psychology, I would like to state that I am committed to serving with my educational experience and learned skills for the welfare of the community I serve in. My strengths include conceptual and critical understanding of the psychological terms, facts, and principles that helped as a foundation in the undergraduate program. I am trained regarding human behaviors, particularly about certain stages of human life, such as adolescents, and awareness about certain ethnic cultures so that demographic, social, and cultural factors and their effects could be analyzed for behavioral changes. Research and familiarity with the application of statistics for better interpretation of the findings and results have given an additional boost to my empirical manifestations about human growth and development for testing certain hypotheses.

These elements of my academic background signify that I could prove to be a good match for the Psychology field since I am well aware of the implications of my enlightenment towards society. My present goals include completing the undergraduate degree, Bachelors in Psychology, and future goals include seeking admission in graduate school for obtaining Masters in Public Health. It is due to the reason of evolvement of my interest in this field since I first entered as a Political Science student in NCCU but could not find it suitable for my concern. I was more involved in discovering human behavior, upbringing of the youth, our surroundings, and exposure to life incidents that shape the human mind and positive and negative thinking processes.

Self-Assessments

Before writing the self-assessment, I would like to enlist my accomplishments to know how far I have met my goals until now. This would help in self-assess myself in the context of gaining success during times of struggle.

I have attained an enriching life experience while studying undergraduate program in Psychology as I have been interested in the human mind, behaviors, and the life experiences that change his attitudes and mind workings along his life pathway. I know the skills of gathering data, interpreting them, and concluding with supporting or negating a hypothesis. I know the theories and certain empirical manifestations that have helped me in research methodologies and their conduction and reached a deduction about a patient’s psychological condition. The practical knowledge that I have received while studying at NCCU has given me the confidence to transform what I have learned practically into professional achievements in the future. Taking classes on Psychology of Human Development and Maturation, Adolescent Psychology, Statistics, Research, Ethics, Sociology, and Psychology of certain ethnicities have opened horizons for exploration of the human mind in countless ways that I have not known I was capable of before.

There were specific weaknesses along this time that I want to overcome to strengthen my competencies in Psychology. For instance, I am emotional and fear that if I emotionally connect with a patient, I might not treat them with persistence. I want to beat this obstacle and save myself from failure if a patient is emotionally distressed, be it my family member or friend. If I have pledged to serve humanity ethically and morally, I believe I should do it with my entire responsibility towards this career by maintaining my professional standards.

Cover Letter

Professional Resume/CV

Academic Record

Having been involved in statistics research during my intermediate time, I already had gained one central strength that aided me in my comprehension in the undergraduate program in Psychology. I have gained knowledge in knowledgeable subjects like History, Statistics, Ethics, and Research to apply my Psychological concepts to the patient’s health condition appropriately. I have gained insight into mental disorders, which is an important part of the Psychology program. Hypothesis generation, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation are well-known to me now since I would make assured conclusions about a theory or concept related to psychological principles. Ethics and diversity inclusion have been ingrained well throughout my program to practice these technical terminologies shrewdly throughout my professional career in the future.

Academic and Professional Goals

My academic goals include currently graduating from NCCU with BA in Psychology and applying to graduate school for Masters in Public Health.

My professional goals entail making my country and reaching to whatever place in the world I can, making them all a healthier place for humans around me. I plan to apply major concepts and theoretical perspectives that I have learned through my course in my psychological training and further in my practical career. Applying basic knowledge of research design, methodology, statistics, and measurement in making sense of the research findings would help me conclude a critical phenomenon about human behavior in my practice. Moreover, I want to keep my professional path in line with ethical standards, laws, and regulations for providing moral service to patients. Evaluation of research in various contexts is included in my professional goals since using decision-making and problem-solving skills. I can apply my psychiatric potential for the well-being of society. The learnings about theories of human psychology and traits would be applied in the professional field, so that approach development is observed for the betterment of the common public. I aim to value diversity and develop a tolerance for accepting different perspectives of different people, not only in terms of working with colleagues but with patients, too, as it would support enduring ambiguity and acting ethically at the same time. This would be beneficial for appropriate communication with numerous socio-cultural and international populations along with underserved ones. For this, I would use critical and creative thinking, freethinking inquiry, and infusion of information technology, which is a dire need of today’s time, to solve patient problems and be consistent with emerging trends and best practices in psychology.

Writing Sample- Empirical Paper

Strategic Plan for Meeting Goals

I want to start my strategic plan by stating my vision for the future:

“To make effective use of my educational strengths for the mental health of the society I live in and if given opportunity, expand my practice to other parts of the world for gaining further inspiration to work harder in the field of Psychology and that too, being consistent with ethical guidelines and best practices.”

For this purpose, I have cited some academic and professional goals in the previous section of this paper. The strategic plan I would adopt for the fulfillment of those goals include:

· To fruition my academic goal, I would complete my undergraduate program with shining grades so that I could get admission to the graduate college on merit. I would then be able to pursue my Master’s program with the confidence of having the apt skills and concepts required in this field.

· Since I could not make the right choice for the first time when I stepped into the undergraduate program, I would search for advice before stepping into the professional line. It is said that after gaining a Master’s degree, there are several options for a Psychology expert to opt from, such as health informatics specialist, healthcare administrator, epidemiologist, health and safety engineer, or public health administrator, etc.

· To achieve my professional goals, I would apply my learnings of the entire educational duration to my profession. I would learn the application process by first working as an intern at the hospital so that I know how practically systems are being managed in a hospital or any fieldwork if they want me to be engaged in. For example, if the intern management wants me to work with African American older adults who have been victims of Covid 19 and have suffered psychologically from its adverse effects, I would know how their behaviors and attitudes have been shaped in times of distress. This would also give me cultural knowledge of working with this community, information about their religious beliefs and ethnic morals that I should refrain from while dealing with the patients. Cultural competency is one proficient skill that I want to master, and this would be a good opportunity if I am provided with it during my internship duration. Moreover, if any such project occurs during my time at the hospital, I would not abstain from volunteering for it.