While most people are obsessed with the idea of making a fortune pursuing a career in business affairs or in a fast-growing IT field, some still care about the core of our existence – our physical and mental health. It goes without saying that health is one of those priceless things in life that money cannot buy, and as soon as I was mature enough to realize it, my future was determined: I was firmly resolved to dedicate my life to medicine and health care. Particularly, I wanted to deal with Psychiatry, as 8 of 10 leading causes of disability in the developed countries are such mental illnesses as major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, et cetera.
Surely, in order to help humanity fight against mental illnesses, I have to acquire the most profound and up-to-date knowledge in psychiatric clinical practice, agency-based practice and research. This is exactly what The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health offers. Learning clinical practice I will be able to master my professional skills in dealing with individual needs of the patients within the given settings. Agency-based practice would be useful for learning peculiarities of educating groups of people – such as teachers, parents, and so on - to recognize the signs of mental distress in children, families and other social units. Obviously, nothing could be possible in psychiatry and health care without conducting a thorough research – that is the third component of the program I am applying for that will lead to understanding of the communities’ structures and, consequently, to meaningful public health outreach implementation.
Apart from being a top-ranked school in public health in the USA, the Bloomberg School of Public Health also includes over fifty Research Centers and Institutes with the research being conducted in the USA and about 90 countries worldwide – I have no doubt that these staggering educational opportunities open the doors to the international psychiatric research and knowledge base and, consequently, to helping people who suffer from mental illnesses all over the world.
I am strongly convinced that my previous education along with my considerable work experience in public health can be a good starting point for studying at the Bloomberg School. Additionally, I love teaching and I would like to combine being a psychiatrist with sharing my valuable knowledge in psychiatry and public health with students. I had a powerful incentive to become an academic after my internship year in different clinical rotations – in fact, this strong desire made it possible for me to continue my education in the USA, as I was accepted for a highly competitive position of a junior faculty member in psychiatry department at King Abdulaziz University and got a full scholarship to study abroad. Undoubtedly, the Bloomberg School’s highly qualified and experienced professors will set a shining example for me to follow in my academic career.
Besides, I believe that my personal skills would be very helpful pursuing my career aspirations. First of all, I am definitely a people-oriented person – whenever there is an opportunity to volunteer for helping people, I am always there – my empathy allows me to fully understand people’s experiences and their state of mind. This might be a beacon of psychiatry, because it is impossible to help a patient unless you fully understand what is going on in his head and in his soul.
Secondly, I never run out of curiosity – no matter how hard you study, there is always something new to know and research. Curiosity is also very important for the career of a psychiatrist – asking the right questions and getting a patient’s answers to them can lead to finding the right method of treatment.
And last but not least, I am fully dedicated to what I am doing – clearly, pursuing career in Psychiatry is not an easy task to accomplish. However, I am ready to face all the challenges on my way in order to make my dream come true, and help the world conquer mental illnesses.
