Coming from an ethnic background where there are high risks of long term conditions such as diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, this has encouraged me to pursue a degree in this course so that I can use my personal experiences, knowledge together with the UK government health protection, to educate and enlighten those at risk, people of all ages, both male and female and different backgrounds.
As a final year student on my BTEC in Health and Social Care, I am on target to gain better grades than my first year's performance which was affected by personal challenges. I have studied Effective Communication which has helped me to develop skills such as empathic listening, reflective listening and paraphrasing and has given me an understanding of how vital body language is. These skills are crucial because it will help me when speaking to individuals at risk because communication is important. Moreover this unit has helped me learn how to make conversations are able to flow effectively with service users. In addition the study of Development through Life Stages gave me an understanding on each life stage which will help me during the course, as I have a better understanding on the development each life stage. Studying Caring for Children and Young people, I learnt that the welfare of the child is paramount which gave me a deeper insight in the need to protect children and young people. I am currently researching female genital mutilation for my research project, which has given me an insight of the different types of abuse as a result the rights of young girls and women to be protected. I enjoy working with a team of people who are as motivated like my-self because it enables everyone to help each other and share ideas.
During my studies I have developed my public speaking skills through presentations and taking part in class debates. I frequently take part in starter activities where I take the lead on topics and devise and deliver activities to my class mates. I also peer mark course-work and provide embedded counselling to my peers, these skills I believe will hold me in good stead at university. I have completed work over 12 months' worth of work placement in a range of health and social care sectors such as a nursery, a youth group for children with learning difficulties and a neurological rehabilitation unit at a hospital. These work placements have enabled me to develop and utilise a range of skills, such as patient centred care and how to deal with a service user's requirements. I believe the skills gained would be vital in the profession I’m pursuing. I work part-time at Dune this experience has taught me how to approach individuals I am not familiar with and to be time orientated. It has also helped me develop the ability to maintain an excellent standard of service in any circumstance regardless of any pressure expressed towards me and so therefore my professionalism remains constant. Being part of a prefect group in secondary school has taught me how to become a team player, take others opinions on board, and how to listen and learn from others. In my spare time I enjoy taking part in bible groups, extending my knowledge on current affairs around the world, walking my dog and learning about dog breeds, socialising with my friends and also reading medical journals. My Ambitions for when I finish training is to become a public health speaker. I have visited an open day at Canterbury University which was very enlightening and interesting because it gave me an insight on university life, through this it has helped me to come to the decision that I am ready to take a step further to pursue my dreams to study health promotion and public health.